Homeward bound

HIya Elaine,

Kay here.. I am a US born,bred and trained RN who has been working and living in Scotland since 1999.

If you are a UK citizen and have a UK birth cert. and passport you will not need a work permit.

If you are planning to finish your training here Im not sure how that would work. If you are planning to finish in the US first then

You will however have to register with the NMC(Nursing Midwifery Council) Used to be the UKCC.... and pay the fee to register which is due to go up once again. As well as keep up the educational requirements for that .

You will need to keep up your US liscense as well as you have to have that to work as a RN here. That can be done by mail as you know there are lots and lots of Ceu courses by mail.

So basically you have to keep up two sets of liscenses and fees as well as two sets of educational requirements.

Everywhere here in the UK is short of nurses so i don't imagine it would be a real problem for you to get a post fairly quickly.

Keep in mind the pay here in the UK is verrrrrrrrry low compared to the US wages.. .though i don't know specifically about the areas of England you mentioned as i've only worked up here in Scotland.

Kaylesh

Feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks for the reply. It is nice to know that I would not have to go through a lot of red tape to get back to the UK. I know the pay is low, but the pay is high here in the US due to the "material" needs that are expected. It is not about the money either. It is about finding the place where you feel comfortable and can relate. I have been in the US for many, many years and always felt like the odd duck.

I will be finishing all my studies here in the US and then relocate to the UK. I lived in Scotland when I was a small child in a country cottage, but I do not remember anything, but the cows and the countryside.

I plan to travel and visit some hospitals to see what it is like. My options of places to relocate are Canada, or the UK, or remain in the states, but I definitely do not want to be in this state. I just cannot find a state that I really want to settle in so, I will just go to where I know most. Canada would be a lot harder emigrate to due to their point system and fees to apply and I heard that they do not have a lot of permanent positions for nurses. Does the UK have permanent positions for their nurses, or is mostly everyone contract ? I am wanting stability since I will be raising children. Also would it be best for me to finish a diploma program, or get a BSN ? In Canada there are going to all BSN RN's and in the US they are starting to follow suit. I just want to be prepared. The funny thing is that my mum was a nurse in England and moved to the US when she was forty and when I am forty I will be moving from the US back to England as a nurse.

Hiya

I'm a ADN(associate degree) RN also have a degree in Education.

So having a BSN is not really necessary.

There are plenty of perm positions here in UK. There are lots of agencies as well. Just like the US the shortage is everywhere. Most of the hospitals here are always hiring.

I am pretty sure its the same in England. I know there are always adverts in the nursing mags and websites for nurses down near London as its more expensive to live and work down there. Nurses down that way get a extra stipend for working near the city.

I am from Massachusetts originally.. All my family and freinds are still there.. Its a pretty good state to work in.. I just felt the pull of my heritage (My gran was from Scotland) and you are right there are things more important than money..

Again feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to answer them

Kaylesh

HI

There are alot of permanent places all over the uk and if you want to have a look at whats available all over the UK have a look on http://www.nursingtimes.net you would have to register but that is free, there you should be able to update yourself on whats happening in nursing in the UK

Anna

Again thank you Kay and thank you Anna for the web site.

This really helps a lot. The US and Canada are only going for BSN nurses and really are pushing their RN's with ASN and Diplomas to get their BSNs. I am glad that I have the option of getting either a diploma or BSN. I may take the accelerated diploma or BSN program so that I can get to the UK sooner.

When you convert the pay from pounds to dollars, the pay comes out about the same. Therefore nurses in general do not get paid very much everywhere. There was an article about how public service people (nurses, policemen, firemen, teachers) do not get paid enough to get the basics like buying homes and decent vehicles and how they all were needing to have 2 incomes. I will be exploring places that are north because I know from some of my family who still is over there, how they are struggling in London and the costs of the homes are outrageous and you don' t get much for the money.

Also, I have noticed that the spellings of medical terms are different here in the US. Where can I get a British medical dictionary so that I will not appear ignorant ? Do you have any that you can recommend ?

Also, how are the doctors in the UK ? I know that a lot of them over here can be a bit full of themselves. I watched a show called ER and they portrayed the doctors of England being so dreadful.

Your replies have been wonderful and so helpful.

Thanks again,

Elaine

I dont know that the UK recognizes diploma programs.. I do know they recognize Associate Degree Programs.. Just wanted to clarify for you :-).

As far as pay goes.. When i came here i took about a 40% cut in pay.. gasssp.. i think about it now.. But there are things more important than £ or $.. :)

Kaylesh

I guess in the UK a RN is an RN. It does not matter how they got there, just as long as they made it.

That is how it should be.