American student studying in the UK

GrumpyRN, NP · Feb 28, 2015

Edinburgh has the old town which people tend to really enjoy. Its full of really old buildings (lots of history), there is also the Edinburgh dungeons tours and if you like shopping the old town is only a few minutes walk from the main shopping area.
As for the Highlands.... Well every inch of that place is stunning. If your a Harry Potter fan i suggest starting in Glenfinnan. If you are there at 11.10 in the morning you will see the Hogwarts Express cross the famous viaduct. In all truth though id say befriend a local who is willing to drive you. You will be awestruck the entire journey. I still am and i have lived here my whole life.

Gaun yersel son! :) :up:

Sorry, could not resist. Proud Scot myself also lived here all my life.

Word of advice though, you may want to change your name to something anonymous and also take Dundee out of your location and just leave it at Scotland. Managers can get a bit twitchy about staff being on public forums.

LondonFog, BSN · Feb 28, 2015

In Edinburgh- THE ENTIRE CITY!! Where do I begin- CASTLE and surroundings- the National Gallery, the green outside it. (In Christmas time they put a great fun fair there) Love shopping on Princes Street. The Observatory, Holyrood, and the walk surrounding the US Embassy is just so pretty.

In the Highlands- Loch Lomond definitely. Fort William, Loch Ness, and Inverness. Duck Bay Marina in Loch Lomond is just perfection.

What are the best places to visit in the Highlands and Edinburgh?

skylark, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2015

UK RN training does NOT qualify you to take NCLEX.

If you train as an RN in the UK, you work in the UK.

LondonFog, BSN · Mar 4, 2015

I must admit- this is also the information I have come across. The training is vastly different from I have read and the education is not interchangeable. This is the reason why you cannot become a (travel) nurse in the UK until you have your BSN (an ASN does not qualify). I know of a couple of UK educated nurses that currently work as RN in the States, however they have followed up on their requirements and furthered their education to specialize. The pay scale is quite varied in the US/UK also.

UK RN training does NOT qualify you to take NCLEX.
If you train as an RN in the UK, you work in the UK.

skylark, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2015

I am a UK educated nurse working in the US.

But I did the older training as a generalist RN, which included adequate hours in peds, OB and psych.

The current 'specialist' training no longer does that.

The pay scale appears different initially, until you remember that UK nurses get a lot more vacation leave, usually minimum seven weeks, and tend to have more job security.

I am in a union job in IL, so my working conditions are not hugely different, but I would not choose to work a non-union job in the US, despite the higher hourly rate.

LondonFog, BSN · Mar 5, 2015

Thanks for clarifying that skylark. I have looked into entry routes into the NHS recently for nursing and otherwise. I'm a dual national and love both countries. I will be starting my nursing school in May (if I get in) but am pondering over the idea of returning to the UK- any advice? Thank you in advance.

I am a UK educated nurse working in the US.
But I did the older training as a generalist RN, which included adequate hours in peds, OB and psych.
The current 'specialist' training no longer does that.
The pay scale appears different initially, until you remember that UK nurses get a lot more vacation leave, usually minimum seven weeks, and tend to have more job security.
I am in a union job in IL, so my working conditions are not hugely different, but I would not choose to work a non-union job in the US, despite the higher hourly rate.

babyNP., APRN · Mar 11, 2015

I would really consider not doing nursing school in the UK because it is far easier to get a UK license from the US versus a US license from the UK. Do you realize that the very long internationally educated nurse process (which takes months as you need to go through CGFNS) you will need to go through for every single state nursing board that you might wish to practice in? If you do go through the UK program, I would contact each state board of nursing and ask exactly how many hours of theory and clinical you need in every single area (particularly OB & peds) and then ask the nursing program if they can guarantee placement for you in those areas.

I'm really not trying to discourage you, but just want you to know the realities of licensing as I've read many, many topics on this board about it. I myself got a UK nursing license as an American a few years ago and it looked very bleak at the time since our training is very different. Go for it- but make sure that you can get a US license if you want to work in the US.

GrumpyRN, NP · Mar 11, 2015

For information, I have worked with a nursing student here in Scotland who was a trained RN from USA. Had experience as an RN but when they came over here they had to become a student again to become registered here.

Like skylark, I trained in UK at a time when we did general training and did paeds, psych and OB and my qualification was Registered General Nurse (RGN). This changed long ago and became more specialised into 'Adult'.

LondonFog, BSN · Mar 12, 2015

Thank you very much Grumpy and baby. I sincerely appreciate the advice. It's hard when your hearts in both places. :) I understand that doing the BSN program in the US will help tremendously in registering with the NMC UK. Will update on what I decide. Thanks again.