Canadian Paeds Nurse heading to the UK

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Hello all,

I've been a paediatric nurse since I graduated (7months ago) and also completed my pregrad (4months prior to grad) in paeds, in Ontario. I've read it's required that paeds nurses have completed a 12 month program in Children's nursing in order to work in the UK.

I would like to move to N.Ireland but would also like to stay within paeds. I can't find any programs within Ontario that might count towards this added training.

I'm considering moving there at the end of next year, looked at a lot of sites, like the NMC and such. But I won't be sending away for an application until Nov, any info or advice you could offer would be much appreciated. There's so much out there on the net these days, it would just be nice to hear from someone who has been in my position, or knows someone who has.

Also, anyone know any good sites for nursing in Northern Ireland? Would like to stay in the Belfast area preferably.

Thanks!

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I would assume your experience would count in lieu of the program. I have never heard of nurses from Canada having to take extra course work when they already had experience in the area (other than L&D, because they use midwives). 2 of my friends went there and worked in the NICU without any courses. Have you contacted their registering board or any hospitals?

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I've been doing a little research here and there since I graduated. I have a couple of hospitals in mind, I was just over in Belfast a month ago but didn't get a chance to go and look around them, as I was visiting with family.

I'm heading back to school in the fall to take a couple of non-nursing courses of interest and was going to contact the NMC after I complete them in Nov, that's when I planned to start the application process.

There's so many changes ongoing now with nursing, what's acceptable today might not be when the time comes for me to apply, so I was going to wait a little longer to get in touch with the registering board.

I figured there were probably other RN's out there who've made the move and could offer some insight. Thanks so much for the reply!

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Hiya. I'm a Canadian living & working in the UK as a Paeds nurse. I have over 12 years as a Paeds nurse but, despite my experience, I still had to do a specific Paeds course to work in the UK at the grade I wanted to. Many places are desperate for Paed. staff, so might take someone on with experience, but you'd be lucky to move beyond a D Grade.

I did the Pediatric Nursing Speciality certificate program through BCIT (British Columbia Institue of Technology), based in Burnaby. Before I applied, I made contact with someone in the Overseas Registration Dep't at the NMC (she's no lnger there) & between her & the program head at BCIT - we decided what courses I needed to take that would meet the NMC's requirements.

It's a long process getting it all sorted out. Of course, if you are a new grad - you'd likely only be hired as a D grade anyhow, so if that's ok with you - look for somewhere that will be willing to hire you without specific Ped's credentials.

Hope this helps a bit. Any more questions - let me know. Good Luck!

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Hey there...I was in Belfast for the final practicum of my BN at U of Calgary ( I was supposed to go to Belize but ended up in Belfast..). I was in the PICU at the Royal, and I lived on site too.

Have you read through the posts about the differences between nursing here and there? The conversation is always a bit heated and both sides get defensive but if you are used to nursing over here you should be very clear on the differences as they are major.

The emphasis in nursing that I saw (I cannot speak for all the UK) was on *basic* nursing care. Now, basic nursing care requires a great deal of creativity and is an art form in itself. So I do not want my next comments to sound disparaging at all, but some UK RNs have said that UK nursing is not as technical as N American nursing, and they are correct. However, I would add that where our roles are more technical and we have a wider range of 'skill sets' that we are responsible for in our scope, we *also* carry a different scope psychosocially. And let it be known that as a UK nurse wrote here, I too believe the tasks we do are not what makes a nurse a nurse. Anyone can be trained to insert an IV. It isnt that one is better than the other (though I have my preference as I find I have more autonomy in N America), but the structures are really different. I heard the Belfast nurses talk openly about their resistance to the new competencies they were going to become responsible for in the coming months because they feel that they are the "doctor's job". Me, I was really resistant to this stance because I feel it is both unprofessional and anti-intellectual. But again, that's just me and the baggage I bring from where I was educated.

I did find it odd that in a PICU, there would be days where the RNs sat in a circle of chairs, drank tea, and read tabloids. I never saw an RN initiate an IV start, and we were not allowed to insert catheters with male patients because, as a resident put it, "there's just so much more that can go wrong". Along with this mindset as regards tasks however is a mindset as regards the RNs role as a clinician. I never saw a nurse perform a head to toe assessment. I saw them speak with families and come to know them very well but I never observed an RN specifically talk to the family about the experience of being in hospital, or use therapeutic questioning techniques, or do any detailed teaching (with families or me!). Maybe we're just less inhibited over here, but that didnt satisfy me.

Anyway, it was a valuable experience. The RNs were all extremely kind and welcoming but I'm sure they thought I was a nutter and a keener. I have a much healthier perspective on nursing here anyway...

good luck.

They are used to different workloads and the ICU might be drastically different from the wards, what do I know.

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