Nursing in the UK....hummmm....

Mike RGN · Jun 22, 2004

Try this link, it the main NHS site and from this you will find all the NHS hospitals, not all have web pages.

http://www.nhs.uk/

As for nursing in th UK, I can't complain today its my day off. Who know about tomorrow, but thats the great thing about working in the NHS.

Briefly, the pay is low ( but I do alright ) Nurse patient ratio are extreme, the patient and relatives still complain, all very similar to where ever you work in the world, but I have been doing it for, well a lot of years and I have no plans to move on.

You will find many who have a different view point but most love it

suehp · Jun 22, 2004

Hi, I am actually in the process of emigrating to Florida actually, but it isnt because I hate my job over here, it is becuase we like the way of life over there...and then I have been fortunate enough to find a job that is right up my street.

If I wasnt planning to move I couldnt see myself doing anything else to be honest as I do love my job and as Mike has already said the relatives/patients complain on this side of the pond too..Nursing is nursing wherever you are....policies and procedures are different from hospital to hospital from country to country..you just need to be able to adapt.

It is great that you want to make a move so big...and as I am being told so often lately - "If you dont like it you can always come home"!!!! :)

Karen30 · Jun 22, 2004

Hi

I am actually thinking of moving to Canada. Mainly for a change and that if I don't do it now I never will. Unlike yourslef, it's taken me 9 years off being qualified to decide to move countries!!!

So on to nursing in the UK.

Okay the pay isn't the best, but it's not completely bad, and hopefully with proposed pay changes in the next 12 months it should get a little better.

Holidays are good, depending on how long you have been employed depends on your leave, but I remember starting out with something like 33 days holidays, inclusive of bank holidays, which works out about 6-7 weeks a year.

The NHS pension scheme is supposed to be one of the best in the country.

You get discounts from various shops, more if your in the RCN, (Royal College of Nursing -trade union).

More information can be found at the Royal College of Nursing, (http://www.rcn.org.uk/) website and also the Nursing and Midwifery Council, (http://www.nmc-uk.org/nmc/main/splash.html).

A website that might be helpful is the NHS Careers, (http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/), it gives you information about entry requirements and working in the NHS).

Might also be work looking at two popular UK nursing journals, to see whats going on in the uk nursing world, these are Nursing Times, (http://www.nursingtimes.net/nav?page=nt), and Nursing Standard, (http://www.nursing-standard.co.uk/).

Whatever you decide, good luck!

abundantjoy07, RN · Jun 23, 2004

:pwow! thanks for the tips. i know i have two years left before i earn my bsn...but i wanted to sit down and make goals for myself. all of this is part of the preparation process...even though i have a long way to go thanks again for your help. any other ideas would be appreciated too! :idea:

-babyrn

Moscow · Jun 28, 2004

hello all!
since i will be have my bsn by 2006 i am currently considering the location of where i want to work and live. i'll be fresh out of college with no serious responsibilities (like kids) to deal with. i'm thinking this will be one of the few times in life that i will be able to make a big decision like this. i've been playing with the idea of leaving texas and the us. i mean i've never seen the world outside of north america before... since i can't just hop in a bus to go to the uk, i wanted some opinions and advice from the people who live there. i know this is pretty general...but what do you think of nursing in the uk? have you ever considered nursing away from home? and also...can you provide me with links to the various hospitals and clinics in the uk? i'd like to do some research of my own too! i'm doing a lot of reading on the culture and life there to get a feel of what it would be like living so far from home...but of course nothing is better than to hear stories from real people instead of just out of books!
-babyrn

british ers can be quite hectic.

public disorder costs the nhs a lot of money and it is always a good idea to check a hospital on a friday or saturday to see if it looks like stalingrad.

the uk has a free market regime of liquor licensing and that has a marked effect on the social environment.

jjjez · Aug 2, 2004

British ERs can be quite hectic.
Public disorder costs the NHS a lot of money and it is always a good idea to check a hospital on a Friday or Saturday to see if it looks like Stalingrad.
The UK has a free market regime of liquor licensing and that has a marked effect on the social environment.

Err - i think i'm going to have to disagree with you there. While it is true that most european countries have an active drinking culture i'd like to point out that the US has a far worse drinking culture. i'm so sure that i feel i could just say; the United States has worse drink driving levels, alcohol abuse, alcohol related crimes compared to any country in Europe (probably excluding Russia - maybe).

The reason we do better i think is because our legal age for drinking is 18 in the UK and not a too far away 21. it means that by 18 everyone is used to alcohol. (Just an opinion)

We have a drinking culture because we feel that alcohol can be enjoyed responsibly and away from the traditional 'keg party' and 'spring break'

Trauma Columnist · Aug 2, 2004

I lived in Spain for three years and though the drinking is usually responsible - I still remember stepping over drunks to go down the stree to use the phone. My son was only 5 when we left (he is now almost 24), but he still remembers Mommy waking up the man so she could use the phone. So, while I feel that of course different cultures can do what they want in their own countries (and in the US we certainly have a lot of drinking ills), it is more open in Europe as a whole.

Moscow · Aug 3, 2004

Err - i think i'm going to have to disagree with you there. While it is true that most european countries have an active drinking culture i'd like to point out that the US has a far worse drinking culture. i'm so sure that i feel i could just say; the United States has worse drink driving levels, alcohol abuse, alcohol related crimes compared to any country in Europe (probably excluding Russia - maybe).
The reason we do better i think is because our legal age for drinking is 18 in the UK and not a too far away 21. it means that by 18 everyone is used to alcohol. (Just an opinion)
We have a drinking culture because we feel that alcohol can be enjoyed responsibly and away from the traditional 'keg party' and 'spring break'

Routine policing in over 20 cities and towns has been abandoned (normal services suspended) at weekends to deal with the city centre chaos. The cost to the NHS is staggering and performance levels are badly affected.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3537257.stm

The chances of being injured in British towns at weekends is quite high. Many towns centres are virtual no-go areas. Child protection and other key areas have been seriously reduced because of policing costs.

The UK has similar problems to the mafia run resorts in eastern Europe. The UK can make New Orleans look laid back. Britain can be one of the wildest places to visit.

karenG · Aug 4, 2004

Routine policing in over 20 cities and towns has been abandoned (normal services suspended) at weekends to deal with the city centre chaos. The cost to the NHS is staggering and performance levels are badly affected.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3537257.stm
The chances of being injured in British towns at weekends is quite high. Many towns centres are virtual no-go areas. Child protection and other key areas have been seriously reduced because of policing costs.
The UK has similar problems to the mafia run resorts in eastern Europe. The UK can make New Orleans look laid back. Britain can be one of the wildest places to visit.

I'm sorry but I beg to differ!! I live in London- its a fairly big city! and I havent noticed any of these problems.. and yes I'm happy to travel home on my own on the last train at night... never had any problems. we do have a problem with refugees from middle eastern countries trying to set mafia run stuff but it is being dealt with! Its really not that bad!

Karen

Moscow · Aug 4, 2004

I'm sorry but I beg to differ!! I live in London- its a fairly big city! and I havent noticed any of these problems.. and yes I'm happy to travel home on my own on the last train at night... never had any problems. we do have a problem with refugees from middle eastern countries trying to set mafia run stuff but it is being dealt with! Its really not that bad!
Karen

London is blighted by gangsters from eastern Europe etc. I gather most arrests of Arabs are for trivia. Before the Arabs, it was the Irish who were rounded up in racist witch hunts.

The usual trend is many hundreds of arrests and a near zero conviction rate. How many convictions out of the last 600 'terrorist' arrests, a round dozen or so? Tony Blair and David Blunkett do media stunts.

jjjez · Aug 5, 2004

London is blighted by gangsters from eastern Europe etc. I gather most arrests of Arabs are for trivia. Before the Arabs, it was the Irish who were rounded up in racist witch hunts.
The usual trend is many hundreds of arrests and a near zero conviction rate. How many convictions out of the last 600 'terrorist' arrests, a round dozen or so? Tony Blair and David Blunkett do media stunts.

What on earth are you talking about???

The reason that mainly arab people were arrested is because terrorism recently is attributed to the arab world, so of course they're going to arrest arab people who they suspect!!!!!

Blighted by gangsters from eastern europe???

Are you sure you live in london???

Do you know how majority white the United Kingdom is????? do you know that minority groups make up less than 12% of the whole population of the UK???

Blighted by gangsters??? HAHAHAHAHAHA

IF any gangster from eastern europe could even afford to set up shop here (the most expensive city in the world on par with Tokyo) i would be amazed.

Yes we have our problems but we also have a ferocious set of tabloid newspapers that regularly dont show the whole story.

You find me a politician that doesnt do media stunts????

and as for gangsters... whatever. we might have a bunch of annoying kids etc , but at least we dont have grown people fighting turf wars.

London is a great place, i think mainly because rich and poor live close together (unlike the US where you can geographically distance yourself form the poor.) WE find gun crime shocking here because it is, not just a fact of life like the US.

Clearly if you live in london you're about 10 minutes of the banana boat, otherwise you must live in a really crappy area