is uk nursing qualifications the same as the us qualifications?

[sissabell]

hey i have been searching the internet about uk and us qualifications to see if they are the same but i havent found anything yet!

i want to become a nurse and study my nursing degree in the uk but then after i get my degree i want to move to the us, particularly hawaii. i know you need a rn license and the course i am going to be doing is a full 4 year course on nursing and i was wondering if the course is equivelent to the us's?

and i was also wondering, i have problems with my wrists which is under investigation but sometimes they get really bad that i cant write and i get extra time in my exams also but i was wondering if that could affect my nursing career if it is a long term problem/disability?

[lpsg]

Hi,

i was just wondering if anyone could clarify a few things for me. i am currently in a scottish nursing school studying general adult nursing and i was just wondering because we dont cover paediatrics, obstetrics and psychiatry which are areas you must have theory and practical experience in before you can even sit the NCLEX exam how do scottish registered nurses make it to america?? is there a conversion course??? how did you get around it??? i have a green card so dont need to worry about immigration thankfully.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

UK training is significantly different than US training, as UK nurses are trained in one of several specialties and US nurses are trained more broadly.

Do not know if OP is a US citizen, but if they do not have working papers, with retrogression in place, it will be a long time in the queue to work stateside.

And even longer to get a job in Hawaii. Given the current recession and that just about everyone and their brother wants to work and the incredible glut of unemployed nurses, it will difficult to get a job there.

[lovemenursing]

Very fascinating. I didn't realize there was so much differences in training!

[kkestral]

LOL your post made me giggle for good reasons.

I am presently a 2nd year student in the UK and have observed the above many times. But let me just say we are not all like that. I love looking after patients and doing basic care, I go home happy I have done a good days work and happy that I have helped the patient.

Also there is nothing wrong with wanting to learn about what you are doing and why then you can put it into context and explain to your anxious patient. Lets be honest Drs. don't have good communication skills (or writing skills lol). They frighten and bamboozle patients with terminology. Nurses are excellent communicators who can explain that 'hypertension' isn't a cancerous growth but maybe an indication to eat better and exercise more lol. Nursing in the UK is great I have met some fantastic, educated and professional nurses tht have brought me to tears with their empathy and knowledge.

Big up the NHS I am proud to be part of it and training to become a nurse.

Kkestral

[misswoosie]

2300 hours in clinical practice as a Student and no hours as a rostered contribution to Auxiliary provision

Says it all really!

So many nurses these days won't do/don't think they should do the bread and butter nursing stuff -that the healthcare assistants do nowadays because SENs are no longer and nurse training moved into academia.

Much of auxillary provision IS good ,basic ,nursing care and it's also when assess and evaluate as well as comminicate with your patient, eg bedbathing, making beds,doing obs etc etc.

We got to the stage of healthcare assistants doing obs because there was no one else to do them and most do not have the knowledge or training to be undertaking this level of responsibility and rely on automated devices to do them.

Too much about "me" nowadays and not enough about "them" (the patients)

[misswoosie]

2300 hours in clinical practice as a Student and no hours as a rostered contribution to Auxiliary provision

BabyRN posted that she met the requirements for a UK RN license with only 800 clinical/700 theory hours.

Why on earth would they do that?

Does anyone know (out of interest) what the minimum hours are for a foreign nurse seeking to become a US RN?

[stevoandjo]

Do you need a degree to work in the states? i am an RN and only have my diploma

[skylark, BSN, RN]

The degree/diploma choice isn't the issue. Many of the old style RGNs were and still are eligible for ATT before the UK training was divided in this way.

Its all about the total content of the training, and having sufficient hours in all four areas, adult, peds, psych and obstetrics.

I never found the minimum total written anywhere, but I submitted my transcript and immediately got the ATT. I'm an RGN, (who happens to have since completed a degree, but I did not submit that for the ATT), and they deemed my training as acceptable.

If your diploma is in adult nursing, then chances are you won't meet the minimum requirement for peds, psych and obstetrics.

Hope that helps.

[nursejojo]

i just received my evaluation and they have said that i have no hours for microbiology. surely this can not be right?? help....this has been dragging on with the IERF for 18 months!

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

US nurses, whether ASN or BSN students, take a 4 credit course in microbiology with lab as a part of the nursing school curriculum. This is in additon to developmental psychology, anatomy & physiology with lab, nutrition, pharmacology, sociology, and statistics. Did you take a lab science course in microbiology?

[misswoosie]

I didn't take a lab science course in microbiology either, but I have a US RN license. We did cover some microbiology in our training-I guess that was enough when they reviewed the transcript.