Looking for an international nurse to have a global understanding of nursing.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Sep 7, 2011

Check out our https://allnurses.com/international-nursing/ forum.

iNurseUK, RN · Sep 7, 2011

I'm happy to help if a nurse from the UK isn't too boring for you :)

JVattRN · Sep 11, 2011

That would be great, thanks! Do you currently work at a hospital and what unit? I work in the NeuroSpine Intensive Care Unit. I have been a nurse for a little over 2 years, how about you?

iNurseUK, RN · Sep 11, 2011

I have been qualified 20 years and most of my experience was in reconstructive surgery but I also worked in ITU. I am currently on an Oncology Unit at a very well-respected Cancer hospital Happy to help if you have questions.

JVattRN · Sep 19, 2011

Thank you again for your help. I do have some questions for you. How is the profession of nursing viewed in your country? What kind of education do you need, bachelors or associates degree? I currently work at a hospital that requires you to have a bachelors degree. Is grad school for nurses big out there? Are the doctors receptive to nurses' input? How big is your hospital and what is the nurse patient ratio? Is there a shortage for nurses in your country? Sorry for all the questions. But I hope you can help with some of them :)

iNurseUK, RN · Sep 20, 2011

Now where to start? Nurses in the UK certainly command less respect than in former years. We as a profession are often at the sharp end of media criticism particularly in the more right-wing sections of the media. Accusations such as being too "educated" to care are commonly heard which is a ludicrous notion. By that definition only stupid people are "caring"

Which leads me on to education. All UK nurses will soon be required to have a degree (Batchelors) being English I'm afraid I don't know what an Associates degree is but at a guess I would think this to be equivalent to our Diploma which as I mentioned is being phased out.

Opportunities for post-grad degrees are largely dependent on the area you work in. They are uncommon in large General Hospitals but much more frequently seen in specialist areas such as Oncology.

Doctors usually are receptive to nursing input. I must say from reading around on allnurses that American doctors seem much more liable to being a pain in the posterior than British ones!A senior nurse would soon put a doctor with God Syndrome in his or her place!

The hospital where I currently work is small and highly specialised. There are probably no more than sixty beds on the three inpatient units but we treat many more on an outpatient basis in our clinics and a Chemotherapy Day Unit. Staffing ratio is one to four on all the inpatient units which I must point out is unusually high. I have worked in other hospitals where it is more like one to eight or more depending upon acuity.

There is no shortage of nurses in the UK currently and it is slowly becoming more common for newly qualified nurses to have difficulty in finding the post of their choice.

Sorry if I went on a bit and hope this is helpful to you.

JVattRN · Sep 26, 2011

Hi there, sorry for the late responses. But how are you? I do have some more questions for you, I know more questions right? Do you mind telling me a little bit about yourself? Can you tell me about your educational background and experiences? Do you have any goals for the future? Anything else you would like to tell me about yourself?

And I also have some questions about nursing in the UK. Are there any nursing issues in the UK? Are there a lot of male nurses in the UK? America is starting to attract more male nurses. How is the treatment of nurses outside of the media? Anything else you would like to tell about nursing in the UK?

Thanks,

Jasmine