American Nurses in U.K

8-ball, BSN · Jul 6, 2018

You might try this question in one of the FB groups dedicated to UK travel nursing. Sorry I have no experience in this and I doubt you will find many in this forum that do.

GrumpyRN, NP · Jul 7, 2018

Almost all nurses in UK work in the NHS. Some work private hospitals or nursing homes.

NHS is the best thing since sliced bread!

I cannot comment about London as I worked in Scotland.

There is a lot of work for you to do to allow you to work in the UK - see threads on this forum. It is not easy and takes a lot of time, effort and money to gain an NMC PIN number.

kaitfinder, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2018

Hey!

I'm a U.S. nurse in the process of getting licensed in the U.K.

I don't currently work there but am in touch with a hospital about standards of practice/care/jobs so I have a bit of information. Additionally, if you have any questions about the actual process of moving/getting licensed in the U.K. as a nurse, I'd be happy to share what I've learned over the past several months, should you decide to move and work there.

As far as just general nursing in the U.K., it seems to be fairly similar to what I've come to find in the US. Nurses seem to have the same scope of practice and autonomy, patient to nurse ratios (hospital based), and education level. One of the few skills I've come across that we don't do in the US that they do in the UK is suturing? To be confirmed though the extent to which a UK/non-surgery nurse would suture. As far as I am able to understand, the NHS, as it is funded by the gov't, has more limited resources, especially when it comes to money. As such, nurses might get paid slightly less and have access to fewer or less advanced resources. However, many of the NHS hospitals seem to work with universities/educational bodies and as such have very up to date and current healthcare practices. Also, if you work for the NHS you would likely encounter different types of patients, i.e. the difference between patients who can afford to or choose to pay for healthcare and those who cannot or do not.

I'm expecting to move officially by the end of the year, so if you're still around by then, feel free to shoot me a private message about it, or the process of getting registered.

-Kaitlyn

melindajodi · Jul 13, 2018

Hi Kaitlyn, I am new to this website and am not sure how to send you a private message. I added you as a friend, I'm not sure if that does anything lol - but I would really like to speak with you regarding the process as I am looking to go back to England. I am in Canada currently, but a UK citizen as I was born there and kept my dual citizenship.

My email is [email protected] or if you wanna message me on here thats cool too I just don't know how to do it!

Hope to hear from you soon x

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 14, 2018

To use the site's pm system you need 15 or more posts

Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2018

I recently returned to the US after living and working in London for six years. I've written about the experience in a few places, probably most extensively in this thread. Happy to answer any questions you may have, although the registration process has changed substantially (and gotten much more difficult) since I went through it.

NurseTBSN, BSN · Jun 23, 2019

On 7/10/2018 at 3:02 PM, kaitfinder said:
Hey!
I'm a U.S. nurse in the process of getting licensed in the U.K.
I don't currently work there but am in touch with a hospital about standards of practice/care/jobs so I have a bit of information. Additionally, if you have any questions about the actual process of moving/getting licensed in the U.K. as a nurse, I'd be happy to share what I've learned over the past several months, should you decide to move and work there.
As far as just general nursing in the U.K., it seems to be fairly similar to what I've come to find in the US. Nurses seem to have the same scope of practice and autonomy, patient to nurse ratios (hospital based), and education level. One of the few skills I've come across that we don't do in the US that they do in the UK is suturing? To be confirmed though the extent to which a UK/non-surgery nurse would suture. As far as I am able to understand, the NHS, as it is funded by the gov't, has more limited resources, especially when it comes to money. As such, nurses might get paid slightly less and have access to fewer or less advanced resources. However, many of the NHS hospitals seem to work with universities/educational bodies and as such have very up to date and current healthcare practices. Also, if you work for the NHS you would likely encounter different types of patients, i.e. the difference between patients who can afford to or choose to pay for healthcare and those who cannot or do not.
I'm expecting to move officially by the end of the year, so if you're still around by then, feel free to shoot me a private message about it, or the process of getting registered.
-Kaitlyn

I’d like to know more

NurseTBSN, BSN · Jun 23, 2019

Are you working yet in the UK?

kaitfinder, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2019

On ‎6‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 6:09 PM, NurseTBSN said:
Are you working yet in the UK?

Yes, I am! I have been working as a nurse in the UK since January 2019. What would you like to know more about?

NurseTBSN, BSN · Aug 20, 2019

Yes please tell all working conditions culture pay vs cost of living best places to work respect for nurses from drs

We'veGotSpirit · Aug 21, 2019

Yes Kaitfinder I'd like some information as well. I can't get over the pay rate. It would be a big change to what I'm getting now in NYC even after I compute the exchange rate. I saw agency nursing pays a bit more than NHS nursing but I'm not sure of the benefits yet.