Wanting to Work in the UK

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Hello all,

I have seen all internet address for starting off the long paper work especially the NMC. Are there any easier ways to go about this? I am very confused as to how to go about starting. I am a Canadian trained Rn and I am presently working inthe US.

Would you recommend any companies to work with or any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks and hope this

In all honesty I would say no. Things are bad in the NHS right now. That doesn't mean that there aren't good trusts where you could have great learning experiences however. But the overall picture is bleak. It might be nice for you to do as a short term thing. Any work experience in a foreign country really opens your mind and is a good learning experience. The UK is unbelievably awesome in general. British nurses are ace and I've learned a lot here.

The non-existant nurse patient ratio rule thing scares me. There are so many hospitals here that run 30 bed urology/medical/ surgical wards with one or two RN's and a couple of aides. A good friend of mine works on a vascular surgery ward and she was one RN to 30 patients on a day shift. It wouldn't be unusual if you end up having to work a shift like this (1 RN alone on a 30 bed ward) more often than not. The gynae ward at my hospital often runs with one RN to 25 patients, that includes fresh post-ops. We have nursing agencies and bank staff, but the hospital won't use them anymore due to ££££.

That puts your license on the line. I would imagine that if something happens in the UK that destroys your British license, it would also have a bad knock on effect with your standing with your American board of nursing.

I don't see things getting better with the staffing here so I would be careful.

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Hiya here is some more information for Nurses wanting to work in the UK. The site is part of RCN(Royal College of Nursing)

http://www.rcn.org.uk/resources/international/

Hope that helps..

Kaylesh

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Are there non-NHS hospitals? What about the private hospitals? Does anyone hire PRN staff at these private facilities?

I wil be going (God willing) to U of London in a few years for the MSc course in public heath policy and economics. I would love to be able to work every once and a while to see how things are done.

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
Are there non-NHS hospitals? What about the private hospitals? Does anyone hire PRN staff at these private facilities?

I wil be going (God willing) to U of London in a few years for the MSc course in public heath policy and economics. I would love to be able to work every once and a while to see how things are done.

Things will change by the time you get to London if you are talking about a few years away. It has to because the situation cannot continue as it is for ever. Can it??

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OK I am being dramatic but it feels good to be getting back to normal after 4 months of hell :lol2:.

And I'll always enjoy it when you do get dramatic, so don't stop on my account:lol2:

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A friend of mine worked at a private hospital in the London area (I think she said it was called Chelsea Westminster or something) and they apparently still have jobs. They're trying to get her to come back, but of course she has experience in a specialty area.

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Are the private hospitals more fru-fru than the NHS facilities???

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hi there,

i am sorry to hear of the problems you have been having. there is a long process involved in working in any new country. i am discovering this as i have started my application for working in Canada. on a positive note for you had you considered Scotland as a place to work? i dont think we are laying off as many nurses (although there are budget problems everywhere) and i am sure if you approach some of the trusts you might be pleasantly surprised at what they might offer you. they recently brought over nurses from India and parts of Europe in my hospital. if you PM me i can give you more details as to where i work. also a few years ago i worked for a private hospital and they can sometimes be more willing to sponser nurses from abroad. the hospital i worked in at the time was actually in Canterbury and there was, and i believe still is, a constant recruitment of foreign nurses. just something to think about. i would have thought having an ER background would be a big advantage to you as these posts are notoriously short staffed. hope this has been of some help.

good luck

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Specializes in L&D, Inpatient OB, Certified.

Hello from Sunny Florida!

I'm Kate, been an RN for 24 years, have been in inpatient OB (labour & delivery) for 20 of those. Also have worked ER, med/surg, stepdown telemetry, call centre, and insurance review jobs. Anyway, I'm completing NCM certification as I really want to make a go of going to UK to live & work. I'm a cancer survivor twice over & feel a huge need to do something big & new in my life.

I've done some travel nursing around the states, have been licensed in Tennessee, Washington, Texas, North Carolina, and now Florida. Slowly but surely working on finishing my MSN in nursing education as well. Would love to cross train in ER, too.

There still remain possibilities of UK recruitment, as I have read on some websites, but reading all of your posts does put a bit of a damp mood on some expectations. GOOD TO HAVE A REALITY CHECK though!

As far as nursing in the USA? Well, I have worked in private, public, and military hospitals here. BY FAR the best bet is working in a military facility. I get the real feel of someone to back me up when things go bad, and there is a real chain of command for when you have docs who aren't playing nice. I absolutely got sick of the admin. attitude in big medical centers here (actually have had department head come into staff meetings saying "just remember, all of you can be replaced" - how's that for morale?!)... have seen no backup for when doctors curse at you or throw & break equipment, admin. that is vengeful and uses scheduling or sick time against people, etc. Dismal; I haven't run into those kinds of things in the military hospitals where I've worked.

In case you are interested in working for one of those, here are some links to staffing companies who specialize in staffing military hospitals in the US:

http://www.ohi-corp

http://phyamericagov.com/

http://www.shrusa.com/

Also if you have certain qualifications you can directly apply for US government jobs here (go to search jobs, then click on "series search" at top of menu page, then enter 0610 - code for RN - and search!):

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

Good luck to EVERYONE! even me... ;)

All for now,

Kate in Pensacola

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also a few years ago i worked for a private hospital and they can sometimes be more willing to sponser nurses from abroad. the hospital i worked in at the time was actually in Canterbury and there was, and i believe still is, a constant recruitment of foreign nurses.

good luck

Not from what I can understand, I'm at Canterbury University, there is no jobs for us students that are just finishing there & the ones that were hoping to work there have been told there are no jobs.

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I'm hearing horror stories of staffing levels 1 to 25 or 30. I Did nights and was welcomed with open arms on a acute medical ward 24 beds (always full) 2+1 on nights they loved having a student. The NHS would be in a far worse state but for nursing students but there are few to no jobs when qualified. I was thinking of using my resistraition to see the world a little seems NZ and Austraila except UK RN(A)

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