Hello all!

I am interested in trying to travel to the UK as an OR (Theatre) nurse.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about how to find a travel company that takes US nurses.

I will have three years as a scrub tech and a year as a nurse in the OR before trying to come over.

Thanks!

Amy

There are no travel companies that do travel assignments in the UK like we have in the US. And any foreign placement requires at least two years of experience in most cases. You will find companies for Australia and New Zealand, but not for the UK. Only per diem agency work.

like Suzanne says we don't hav anything like that here

First you have to deal with the NMC our governing body they have to process your application and also they have fetched some new hoops to go through if educated outside the EU and it is still unclear who provides this service.

http://www.nmc-uk.org/(i5201jaslkgh3cjnxmieeo55)/aSection.aspx?SectionID=17

then I have found this

http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/overseas_cand.html

and this

http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/your_status/coming_to_the_uk_.html

there is a US nurse working in the UK and she has done for a while she may be able to give you pointers her name is kaylesh may be worth PM her and ask her advice

One of my friends has been travelling as a nurse for about three years now and subscribes to a Travel Nursing magazine. In the magazine they had an advertisement for UK Travel Nursing, I wrote an email and they replied and said that after six months experience they would start my paper work.

Any response to this?

I also found a British nurse working in London that said that she knows travel companies exist, but that they require a lot of pay into their company and she thought it would be cheaper to just go through a hospital.

Anything?

Thanks!

One more thing...

According to the NMC they require a minumum of one year's experience and then you could do a twenty-day equivalency program. So, should I start my paperwork asap, and then I'll have over a year by the time the paperwork actually gets processed?

Also, any email for the NMC, I've only been able to find phone numbers.

Thanks again.

Amy

If there are any travel companies for the UK, they are two year contracts, adn do not pay your lodging, etc like they do in the US. So they are not travel contracts like the US.

You cannot begin any of the process until after you have one year of work experience. You can see things published on the internet stating that the company will have a green card for you in under four months to work in the US, for foreigners wishing to come here, and it just doesn't happen. Unfortunately, you can read all that you want but in the real world, it is going to take you about 18 months from beginning the process before you will have a visa in your hand that will permit you to work in the UK. The NMC has ben changing the rules recently, and it is only going to add on to the time.

Thanks for the reply!

A two-year contract wouldn't be a problem. You see my purpose is to move to the UK and get married and work there for good. I just thought a travel contract would help push the paperwork and would help me to get a job and things.

Do you know of any UK travel companies that I could contact?

Amy

I know someone who used Adevia.