Nursing in France

canuck1 · Apr 23, 2009

Dennis,

what a story! You are quite an adventurer...lol... It must have been quite disappointing for you at that time to have had gone through the process and then to be denied working in Quebec because you did not want to immigrate there. I doubt that this law still exists. No, I'm not from Quebec but I've been there several times because I adore la Belle Province. I live now in south France in the city of Toulouse. You mentioned you were planning to do some traveling in about a year. Is Paris your only destination?

A la prochaine,

Canuck

sasi · Apr 23, 2009

Canuck,
Would I be able to email you or could you email me? I have heaps more questions for you! And you have been so helpful already!
My husband and I are 99% sure we'll be heading to France in the Fall! My French isn't fluent yet, but I'm working on it. We'll be very close to Geneva, Switzerland, so maybe if I get better at French I could commute?
Sarah

Hey SarahgoestoFrance,

I was just lurking here and realized in your post that you will be living close to Geneva, Suisse. I had done some research earlier this week about working as a nurse in switzerland when I graduate and Switzerland recognizes american RN and BSN. I believe they also have some type of advanced practice nursing (I have to double check on that). They are not part of the EU so EU requirements don't apply to them. I have names of a couple of agencies but actually if you do a quick google search you should be able to find some. Also it would have to be in the French speaking part of Switzerland. They usually require that the candidate speaks at least one of the 4 official languages (french, german, italian or romanche). As far as immigration paperwork, I don't really know, maybe you could work on some type of temporary work visa once you get to France... you can also check, maybe they have some type of holiday visa for american citizens.... (Those options are not available to me because of my nationality so I don't know much about it). However, I do know they actively recruit nurses from France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and other EU countries as they have an agreement with them as far as recognizing their degree (Switzerland does not "produce" enough bachelor-level nurses esp. because of not many students continuing onto the gymnasium which would be an equivalent of the last year of high school here or the Cegep in Quebec, that is a preparatory period before going to college).

Hope it helps and Good Luck!

PS: I am french native speaker... let me know if I can be of any help languagewise!

akdennis58 · Apr 23, 2009

Canuck,

Yes, it was quite an adventure. In the end, I don't think I would have been successful. I don't think my language skills were good enough but I wanted to try. I think the law has changed; I did some searching on the web today and it sounds like it's easier for US nurses to go Quebec now. I noticed that here is a new challenge though; Quebec has it's own testing system for nurses now; since 2000. It includes a practical section. On our trip, we currently plan to visit Paris and a few days in London. My friend is thinking about exploring some northern areas of France but we haven't decided yet. Not sure if we will be traveling south.

Dennis

Moira Watson · May 18, 2009

Hi, Can anyone out there help me? I currently work in the UK for the NHS. I have 14 yrs experience as a healthcare assistant in the operating dept. I want to relocte to Monaco/Nice as my husband has a job in Monaco. How hard is it for untrained staff to gain employment? Thanx

Squoshes · Jul 1, 2009

Hi All, Have been trying to read eveyone's comments (over 14 pages!) but still haven't got the ansewrs I need. To be brief:

I am a UK student nurse due to qualify in 2011, my family are moving to France in 2012, near Frejus, South of France. My French is holiday standard, no more.

1) What chance is there of being a RN in France?

2) If not can I work as an auxilliary/assistant?

3) What areas of nursing are the best for me to study? i.e I have heard District/ Community nurses are self-employed

4)Have read a few comments that Spanish and other nationalities are being employed without fluent french, is this true?

5) I can move anywhere in France, (not Paris) but have a family, what areas are best for UK Nurses to get work? i.e.Near to ex-pats, large cities, rural etc..

6) If I can't go near helathcare untill I can speak fluent French, anyone know Carefore's number? :lol2:

Thank you for your time!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 1, 2009

Coming from the EU it should be easier, there are a few threads discussing EU and working in France and one member Fred IDE wrote a fair amount on working in France so may be worth looking for his posts

JulieUSFrance · Jul 16, 2009

We recently had the opposite reaction. My husband is French but trained in the States as a PharmD and I am an American with a BS in Nursing. We currently live in the States are considering moving to France with our family for about a year. Last week while in France my husband spoke with the French Ministry regarding his pharmacy license and the necessary requirements for moving our whole family to France. The Ministry gave him a hard time regarding his pharmacy license but was very willing to accept my nursing license, go figure. I guess I might be the one working. Maybe it depends on how much the area needs nurses? :redpinkhe

swampusa · Aug 30, 2009

Hello DavidFR, I am new to the site, I came upon your comment by browsing through the site. Tell me I am looking to finish my RN in 6 mths. and France has always been an interest of mine as well as Ireland, Australia, and Swiss. Is there any international course that I should take to make employment there eaiser, I am currently an agency nurse(LPN) and have been for 7 years. My interest is hemadiaylisis, Thanks for any info you have. Sounds like you have found a great place to work.

swampusa · Aug 30, 2009

This is my first visit to this site, DavidFR I read you topic on France and was wanting to know do you know of any international courses I should take to make employment their eaiser, I am an agency nurse and have been for 7yrs. any info you may have is appreciated thanks. :nurse:

benjifer · Sep 3, 2009

Hi guys,

I know that my kind are in the minority but was still wondering if anyone could shed any light on the situation for Learning Disabilities nursing in France?

I have been told that People with Learning Disabilities are lumped in with Psychiatric Patients, (my views on that shall reamin my own...) which leads me to wonder if my RN(LD) would even be recognised even though I have extensive MH experience. I specialise in ASD by the way..

Any help would be appreciated!

JessicaNC · Nov 25, 2009

Hey everyone,

I'm currently a first year RN student at Laurentian university in sudbury, ontario.

Im really interested in going to France, for my last year, so im looking into a international program.

Does anyone know what to do?

I dont have very much to work with here, so im trying to find answers.

Id love to move to France and work there, I do not plan on staying in Canada.

What do I do, to complete this?

any information will help, thanks!

-Jessica

akdennis58 · Nov 25, 2009

The information I have gotten in the past from others indicates it's very difficult for foreign trained nurses to relocate to France for work. My understanding is that it would require a year or more of training in one of their nursing programs and a very advanced capability in the French language. For informational purposes, you might try this website to start getting some info: infirmiers.com (I have no connection with that website other than being a member). I'm in the process of obtaining in registration in the UK so that I can work in England and spend some of my free time in France; sort of a roundabout way to spend some time there. Good luck.