British Nurses

karenG · Jan 16, 2003

hi tony

I'm in Dartford so near to you!!! I work as a nurse practitioner in general practice and this board is great fun!!! there seems to be quite a few of us lurk here! It is useful to exchange ideas with other nurses.............even if sometimes I dont know what the heck they are talking about!! drugs are different and some of the terms are different.

maybe we should ask brian to give us our own forum!!

Karen

ayemmeff · Jan 16, 2003

Hi Brian

I'm on the South Coast,in surgery and I'm an Allnurses addict!

lisamct · Jan 16, 2003

Im up in cold and windy Scotland. Ive been hanging around here for a few months and I love it.

Compared to some of the nursing bulletin boards Ive encountered based in the UK this one certainly wins hands down.

As KarenG says sometimes the US nurses seem to be talking a completely different language but someone is always happy to explain if need be.:)

I think there are quite a few of us on here from the UK as well as from other countries apart from the US.

Oh and its definetly addictive, Im here almost everyday, at least once, if not twice, in fact Im barely ever not here!!:imbar

By the way, Im an RNMH,qualified 1994

Lisa

JNJ · Jan 16, 2003

I'm originally a British RN (actually SRN - State Registered Nurse!) out of Charing Cross Hospital in nineteen-hundred-and-frozen-to-death. I've been a USA RN for 15 years.

This site is fulfilling some of the criteria for addiction; I suggest a support group. Perhaps we could ask the Psych. Nurses for help.

ayemmeff · Jan 16, 2003

Originally posted by JNJ
I'm originally a British RN (actually SRN - State Registered Nurse!) out of Charing Cross Hospital in nineteen-hundred-and-frozen-to-death. I've been a USA RN for 15 years.

We would love to hear your opinions on this thread if you get time JNJ

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28968

chrisrob · Jan 17, 2003

firstly hi to lisa i'm an occ health nurse West Coast of Scotland

tony i do find Allnurse helpful plus now in contact with a few people I don't post replies as often as i chould/could to busy trying to read it all or else i'm to busy laughing at some of the threads thy are great

lisamct · Jan 17, 2003

Hi chrisrob, Well Im glad im not the only one here from Scotland, in another thread I said that I thought I was all of ''the Scottish element'' so Ive been proven wrong!!:)

Where abouts are you, if you dont mind me asking, Im in Ayrshire, working for Ayrshire & Arran Primary Care Trust.

Lisa

karenG · Jan 17, 2003

Hey Lisa

I'm a scot too......from Edinburgh. My mum says I've been sent south to educate the english (its not working though!!)

Karen

britnurseucla · Jan 17, 2003

hi, i'm rhonda, recovery nurse currently working in Ramsgate, on the south coast of England (i live right next to the beach!) i've just got a job at UCLA in Santa Monica, california, so i thought i'd check out this site (this is my first visit!) Any tips for a british nurse going alone to the U.S? And what if i take a long time to fit in with the unit, (after all, its VERY different nursing over there!) Will they be patient, and give me time to settle in? i know 3 nurses (2 english, 1 american) whereby the hospital ("let them go") after 3/4 weeks because they didn't "hit the floor running". Having given up my home, job and family, as well as selling all my posessions, i may go out and shoot someone if that were to happen to me.......(just kidding!) Any comments?

JNJ · Jan 18, 2003

Rhonda:

Reality check: You won't 'hit the floor running,' as a UK RN starting in the USA.

Good News: There are smart ways to overcome this. Are you hired for Recovery Room (usually known as Post Anesthesia Care here, although a PACU can also be a Pediatric Ambulatory Care Unit here in CA)? This is not a specialty of mine, so I'm posting rather than PMing so that others might respond too.

I do hope UCLA have offered you an 'orientation' or a 'preceptorship.' If not, make it clear, now, you will need something along these lines. There are too many cultural differences (you remember, two countries divided by a common language - G. B. Shaw) to get beyond, regardless of how good an RN you are.

Two examples from my own experience: I was calling 'charts' 'notes' and vice versa. Tylenol was ordered for a patient and I did not realize this is a brand name for acetaminophen. I did not know how to transcribe MDs orders (in the absence of the unit clerk) as we used to handle orders differently in the UK. It's so easy to look a fool without trying.

If you PM me I'll give you some more differences, so that, at least, you'll be aware of areas that have pitfalls. Also, I'm a long time out of the UK and I expect things have changed there.

In answer to a previous post - this could be a valuable thread of information to RNs changing country if we develop it. I'd love to read the impressions of USA RNs now in the UK!

Yes, I believe allnurses is a very good site and well moderated. The whiners and whingers seem to get well handled here and self efface in time. (Venting is different and OK). If you post specific questions, usually they are answered. It's also a great source of support for personal and professional issues.

I look forward to more of you UK RNs posting here.

JNJ · Jan 18, 2003

Moderator:

May we current and former UK RNs request our own discussion site, please? Or perhaps a 'foreign RN' area. Culturally this could be a huge asset to UK and USA RNs and other nationalities. I foresee that so many of the questions are going to be repeated and an easy area to access for the repeated info will be so very useful. I'm not sure the travel nurses area really meets the needs of foreigners traveling independent of an agency.

Please, please, including sign language (I'm a pediatric RN and into 'please').

Incidentally, I was RN, Dip. N., RHV and RNT when I left the UK in 1987. None of that counts for anything here; had to do State Board testing, known as NCLEX-RN (CAT) here. You need a State license for every state you work in and many states do not reciprocate easily.

Rhonda: How are you getting around licensing issues at UCLA?