International Student Advisors

allnurses Guide · Aug 27, 2008

Just to follow on from what Suzanne said, I doubt you would even be able to get work as a care giver at the end of the course, it is an unqualified position any employer would have to prove that they could not employ from the UK or EU applicants before they would even be able to shortlist you.

From your last post I am confused, if you are coming here on a student visa from what I understand you are only able to work a maximum of 20 hours. I really don't know how these organisations can get away with what they are offering.

Additionally recently in the news in the UK and there are lots of advertisments on TV the government is cracking down on Immigrant Visas, they are making it harder for employers to use international citizens for even skilled positions. I would be very suspicious of what you are being told

chelseaxyrene · Aug 27, 2008

According to them, they are the only ones offering that program which will allow you to work full time. It is like an on the job training with pay. The name of the course that they are offering is BSc Health and Social Care pathway. They are in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University. And aside from that, you are also allowed to work in other establishments if you wish to do so, as long as you are able to pass all the subjects. If not... goodbye UK. I was supposed to meet up with them this afternoon but I am having 2nd thoughts. The interview with their so called employer will be this coming August 29.

I do have a question... is there an agency named four seasons in UK?

nightmare, RN · Aug 27, 2008

I know of a Nursing Home group in the UK calling Four Seasons.

http://www.fshc.co.uk/

procyonnymph · Aug 31, 2008

Hi. i just want to know if this International Student Advisors are really misleading people? Just what xysy25 mentioned, i was also able to attend their seminar and am planning to apply for that program. Are you telling that getting this program will be of no help for nurses and would that program not help nurses( after 2 years of the stay there) be able to get better chances of transfering to another country to work.

i read this one from the news. please care to read this. i will really appreciate your reaction on this claim. thank you very mcuh.

--------------------------------------------------------

Study, learn and earn in the UK

MANILA

(Updated with amendments sent in by Anglia Ruskin University - Contact details for the UK and Philippines are at the end of the article)

Filipino nurses can now study and work at the same time in order to qualify to full-time employment as a nurse or senior carer in the United Kingdom.

This as a prominent university in UK has opened its door for Filipino healthcare professionals.

A company called International Student Advisors Ltd. Inc. has launched its Student Work Placement Scheme, in cooperation with the Anglia Ruskin University based in England, which gives nursing graduates an opportunity to obtain a UK honours degree in Health and Social Care..

While studying for their two-year course in BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Care the students will, as part of the course, have paid student work placements as carers which will provide them with the learning opportunities and support that their course of study will require.

Head of ISA, said that though the students will have to pay for their placement costs, their pay as carers will be sufficient to cover the costs of both living expenses and the full cost of the study.

He added the tuition fee for the whole 2-year course is in the region of £2,500 or roughly P250,000 and the students would work in residential nursing homes and not in individual homes.

The course offered requires a total of 360 units which means that the Filipino nurse will have take up additional 120 units in UK Healthcare, as 240 units of their Filipino nursing degree will be counted towards the total of 360 units required.

After the two year work and study period, the Filipino nurse will have a degree in BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care and will be allowed to undertake a further one year work experience in the in the UK, which can qualify them to work as a senior carer.

Interested applicants are not required to have passed the Nursing Board Exam here but they have to undergo screening and interview to apply for the programme in the Philippines.

If you get a UK degree, it would open a lot more opportunities for you abroad. It will be easier for you to get jobs in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, he stressed.

The first batch of SWOPS Degree option students will leave for the UK within the month but would only start school in February since the second semester in the UK starts in February.

Initially, they have two Filipino Nursing Degree holders who joined the program but they expect it to increase to 40 to 50 students by the end of the year.(PNA)

procyonnymph · Aug 31, 2008

Hi! I just wanted to know if this International Student Advisors are just misleading students... I mean, like xysy25, i was also able to attend the orientation from them. Now I'm really having second thoughts about their program. When I browsed Anglia Ruskin University's website, I searched for the BSc Health and Social Care and at the bottom of the page, they referred me back to International Student Advisors contact information if i have further inquiries. i also sent an e-mail to a certain department in Anglia Ruskin Univerasity and they said that they are in contact with ISA. a well, i guess, the main concern here is, if ever i will go there,(I'm a fresh graduate and recently passed the local board, no work expereince yet), i would not benefit from their program? and even if i was able to work there and the 2-year-visa has ended, though not as a nurse, i will still be not able to get a job in let's say Autralia or New Zealand? I mean, no credits at all?

Hope I can receive a response from you guys. I'm really need a professional advise on this.

allnurses Guide · Aug 31, 2008

procyonnymph I have removed the contact information as we would prefer you do not post it here.

In answer to your question, the degree being offered IS NOT a nursing qualification, will not allow you to practice as a nurse and will not help you get work in the UK.

You may well have "paid student placements" but I would really doubt you will be able to earn sufficient to maintain a good quality of life. You will also need a student visa and as I understand you still need to be able to prove you can support yourself before this is granted.

The immigration office clearly states that as an international student you are only allowed to work 20 hours per week, so I think you would be better informed to check with the immigration office rather than listening to what this company is telling you.

When you finish the course you will not be able to stay and work in the UK as unless you are on the shortage occupation list (and nursing is not any more) you will not be given a Visa to work.

allnurses Guide · Aug 31, 2008

I just also wanted to add that as a new grad, if you do this course you will be 2 years without practicing as a nurse, this means that you are going to find it very difficult to gain employment as a nurse. As far as helping you work in other countries, you would need to check if this qualification is one that is recognised elsewhere, bear in mind it will be about UK health and social care and it unlikely to be of use in other countries.

procyonnymph · Aug 31, 2008

THANKS SO MUCH SHARRIE. I really appreciate your response. ISA said that we will not really work as a nurse there but as carers. and recently they said that Fourseasons Health Care will be coming here to interview 150 students (Fourseasons as employers.) and recently i got a news about the Fourseasons Healthcare under financial instability. how would this issue affect the workers? and by the way, you also mentioned that 20 hours per week will not be sufficient to help us fund our daily living there if ever we enroll on the program they are offering?

thanks so much...

allnurses Guide · Aug 31, 2008

THANKS SO MUCH SHARRIE. I really appreciate your response. ISA said that we will not really work as a nurse there but as carers. and recently they said that Fourseasons Health Care will be coming here to interview 150 students (Fourseasons as employers.) and recently i got a news about the Fourseasons Healthcare under financial instability. how would this issue affect the workers? and by the way, you also mentioned that 20 hours per week will not be sufficient to help us fund our daily living there if ever we enroll on the program they are offering?
thanks so much...

Your welcome

red_hot_chili_oreo · Sep 23, 2008

hi everyone, i just wanna say thanks for sharing your insights about the matter. i'm currently doing my research about international student advisors. I was originally told about an International Nursing Program offered in the University of Hertfordshire. I checked out their website, until i was referred to ISA, which, according to them, is the coordinator for the program here in the Philippines. I'd probably be attending a seminar soon, but at least i already got a wider view of things, based on your responses. thanks again everyone!

suzanne4, RN · Sep 23, 2008

Please spend more time reading here before you even consider a program like this. You already have a BSN, so why in the world would you need to go for a second degree that will not get you a job there as it is? You will be going over as a care-giver and that experience does not count as nursing experience. The British government will not permit you to remain there and then try to get a job as an RN when it is done as they have a hiring freeze in place and have had for sometime. There are those nurses from your country that have been working in the US as RNs for four or more years and they did not get their visas renewed and had to leave the country.

It does not matter what any of these companies promise to you, the fact remains that they do not issue visas to work there and the UK government is not going to as well. The NMC is also not going to grant an RN license to you as well.

Please take the time to do some reading before even considering anything like this. There are multiple threads here on why not to even go for a program like this. You also need to be aware that you can only work 20 hours per week, and not any more no matter what the program tells you to keep your student visa, or you become subject to being deported. The salary that you will be paid will keep you at the poverty level, and with cold winters there, you are not going to have enough to even purchase enough warm clothes to keep you healthy while you are there as well as be able to eat. You are not going to be earning an RN salary, but one of a care-giver and then at half-time, you need to really do the math first.

mark22 · Sep 26, 2008

I heard this ISA too, seemed good to me. but i cant grab them coz i already have NCLEX, IElTS and VISAScreen. What i need ryt now is experience which is so difficult to find one here in the PHILIPPiNES, that would employ me. my God! very upsetting ...