brtish nurses who work in USA

suehp · Sep 5, 2003

Originally posted by bettyboop
Hi to all,

Has anyone got info on uk nurses working in usa, experiences, attitudes, diffculties with lingo probs, is it worth it? are you still there?

Presently RN in north of england hospital. Fed up with brithish weather, staff shortages! budget cuts, none existent social life.
Married with two teenage daughters, husband goes to usa with work many times in a year.
looking into escaping to the sun in state of florida:).
any info at all greatfully received.

The difference between success and failure is a matter of luck! ask any failure
:kiss

Would also be interested in experiences attitudes etc!

I am busy studying for my NCLEX and hopefully be over in the sunshine state sometimes next year!

Sue :)

SnowieRN · Sep 5, 2003

Why dont you like the British Weather? Its niice over there everytime ive been (once :))

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2003

The British nurses I work with here in Florida hate the hot and muggy summers.

Plus we have staffing shortages and budget cuts here as well. So just be careful of your expectations.

bettyboop · Sep 6, 2003

sue ip so your about to take the nclex how long has it taken for you to get to this stage? did you go through an agency etc? have you bought any study guids or been signed up for courses etc?

only just found this forum so apologise if in previous threads you have already gone through this.

3rd shift guy we ENGLISH are obsessed with weather its never right! I agree that every were has bugdet cuts/restrictions and each country has its own particular problems. My expectations hopefully are realistic

1. lots of staff

2. short shifts

3. lots of recreation time

JUST PULLING YOUR LEG!!!!!!

Its quite funny realyy a lot of the staff at my hospital have negative comments about myself even considering leaving the NHS. Still those of us who see that USA/Florida grass is indeed much greener are very supportive. One of my fellow co-workers also wants to start on this long journey of fact/info gathering also with the goal of living and working in USA.

Lets hope sometime in the not so distant future I will be at SueIP stage of sittting my NCLEX passing and getting out there to u all.

Always the optomist

BettyBoop

suehp · Sep 6, 2003

Originally posted by bettyboop
sue ip so your about to take the nclex how long has it taken for you to get to this stage? did you go through an agency etc? have you bought any study guids or been signed up for courses etc?
only just found this forum so apologise if in previous threads you have already gone through this.
3rd shift guy we ENGLISH are obsessed with weather its never right! I agree that every were has bugdet cuts/restrictions and each country has its own particular problems. My expectations hopefully are realistic
1. lots of staff
2. short shifts
3. lots of recreation time
JUST PULLING YOUR LEG!!!!!!
Its quite funny realyy a lot of the staff at my hospital have negative comments about myself even considering leaving the NHS. Still those of us who see that USA/Florida grass is indeed much greener are very supportive. One of my fellow co-workers also wants to start on this long journey of fact/info gathering also with the goal of living and working in USA.
Lets hope sometime in the not so distant future I will be at SueIP stage of sittting my NCLEX passing and getting out there to u all.

Always the optomist

BettyBoop

Hi BettyBoop!

I am hopefully taking the NCLEX in October - just waiting to hear from Florida BON with my ATT. I have been at this a year now. I dont know how much longer it will take - another 6-12 months I suppose from what I can gather from other people!

I am with an Agency and I think that the process has been a slighter quicker process with them - only for the fact that if I wasnt sure what to do next - I emailed them and didnt have to hunt round for the answer!!!

I will pm you too with more info!

Sue:)

bettyboop · Sep 6, 2003

sue are you going outon your own or with family members?

have you found NCLEX hard going

suehp · Sep 6, 2003

Bettyboop,I have sent you a private message !

Yes I am going with my Hubby and 2 boys!

bettyboop · Sep 6, 2003

got your PM sending you one

CaliforniaRN · Sep 6, 2003

This is an interesting BB. This past week I posted to another BB thread at this sight where some of the USA nurses were discussing the skills of UK nurses, and I learned a few things.

Nursing in the states is plagued by the same issues that nursing in the UK is plagued with: staffing shortages, low wages, limited resources, staffing ratios. As discouraging as that is, there is still much that is positive about working as a nurse in the states. If I were planning on coming to the UK for a nursing experience, I would want to do my homework to get an objective view of what nursing actually is like, just as you are doing at this BB.

U.S. nursing is quite demanding, as I am postive it is in the UK. Basic nursing skills include auscultating lung/heart, bowel sounds, inserting IVs, Foley catheters, monitoring changes in condition, education of patients and family members, collaborating with physicians (touchy area since many MDs just can't accept that nurses are highly skilled professionals and have brains larger than peas!!!), case managing, working in teams, meeting continuing education requirements every two years (30 units Q 2 years in order to renew licensure), the list goes on and on. These are basic skills that all UK nurses, I am sure, must already have. Some very forward thinking units expect that their nurses will give opinions and impressions of their patients' conditions ( this should be the rule rather than the exception in every case), and I cannot imagine that UK nurses are not able to fully demonstrate this skill everyday of their nursing lives!

Our medical centers are most likely as large as yours; we have research centers, university hospital settings, home care agencies, rural hospitals, community hospitals and large metropolitan/urban hospitals, specialty clinics for every kind of specialty that exists, urgent care centers for minor emergency services (colds, cut fingers, etc). There is a nursing environment that can suit almost any type of nursing skill or specialty that a UK nurse would be interested in.

The discussion above seems to focus mainly on Florida. I love Florida, but I am from California, and I feel most comfortable practicing in California. Recently our state legislature passed a bill mandating guidelines for staffing ratios. I am interested in seeing how this will impact our delivery of nursing care and outcomes in this state. The new ratios right now as they exist, seem like a luxury to me, considering what I have been through in the last 32 years of nursing! It's a step in the right direction, but will be difficult for some employers to comply with-- especially with our nursing shortage being so critical across the nation.

Our weather here in California can be astonishing at times. For the most part, however, we have plenty of sunshine and hot temperatures in the southern part of the state (L.A. -- much smog and heat in the summer and beautiful in the winter when the sky is clear and you can see the mountains), very mild weather in the mid- state between San Louis Obispo and Santa Barbara-- coastal, sunny, breezy to down right windy (cool 50- 60 and warm 70's to 80's, warmer in summer further north to Atascadero and Paso Robles), HOT in the central valley (90 - 110 in the summer, cold in the winter 30's - 40's). Can be nice and can be cold along the northern coast in California (fog), but a real blessing for us in the central valley during the summer! I live in the northern part of the central valley, 75 miles from Sacramento. I am 2 hours from San Francisco and the bay area, and two and a half hours from Lake Tahoe (north shore is just beautiful with snow and skiing in the winter, and perfect temperatures in the summer), a good 12 hours from LA. I work at a small rural hospital which was just bought by our community, and now we are beginning to upgrade and provide new services. We've been hit very hard by the nursing shortage, and our administration is beginning to recruit foreign nurses. We've never done that before. We have two nurses who have recently come from the Philipines. They are wonderful and are fitting right in.

There is every type of nursing in the states that I am sure there is in the UK. We have one nurse from the UK in our OB unit, and from what I hear from my friends and colleagues in that unit, she is smart, doesn't take any *!, and is an awesome L&D nurse. The docs like her and the staff like her. What more can we ask?!

Good luck on the NCLEX for all of you who are taking that exam! Remember this if you are doing the computer exams: if your score is a clear pass or clear fail, the computer will shut off after you have answered 75 questions. Don't freak out. I've only known one friend who's exam cut off at 75 and she did not pass. So, get your Saunders books out and get going on your preparation. Just remember good ole Nursing Process and that as a RN you are responsible for all patient education and family education, and most importantly, the buck stops with you! I can't see that those responsibilities are any different from what you are doing in the UK.

sashibeak · Sep 6, 2003

Hi Everyone!

I am an RN student in my first year of the program. I come from England, and I have been an international student here in Florida for 2 years now.

I have been awarded a scholarship from a Florida Hospital to help me through school and ensure me of work once I have graduated.

There is a lot of red tape immigration-wise, especially since 9/11, and it is a lengthy process but hang in there and give it a go. Just don't be disappointed if you don't get the response you want. I am training over here and have a scholarhship. I am waiting to be approved on OPT, which means I can stay on for a year once I graduate as part of my training. I am going to apply for permanent residency during that year.

I wish you the very best of luck! I LOVE the muggy Florida weather, but as someone else said, there are many other beautiful States over here............. don't limit yourself to one source of action.

And remember, don't give up............ seek and ye shall find and plug away till ye get!!

Good luck to you all!

bettyboop · Sep 6, 2003

As you say UK nurses and us nurses are highly skilled Ialso do foleys, canulation venapunture ALS as well as IV etc in the UK nurses are constantly asked by Drs what meds iv quantity to pescribe as my reply goes your the doctor check the pharmacology books, but some nurses have fell victim to this when somthing goes wrong.