No Experience International Nursing?

[periodical]

Here is my predicament: I am four months from finishing nursing school. My girlfriend (who I've lived away from for a year anyway) has just received a job offer she cannot refuse in Fife, Scotland. I am wondering if it is possible to work there without any experience... NHS Scotland doesn't make that look likely. I am also confused about whether one needs an agency to get a job in Scotland (or whether one can apply directly). Really, I cannot bear living apart from her for another year gleaning experience... What are my other options?

Thanks for any advice you have..

[uswoman]

I can only speak from my experience in New Zealand, but some of this might apply. When I came to NZ, I did not have nursing registration. I managed to get a job in a DHB (District Health Board) hospital as a patient care assistant. In that position, I did a lot of the hands-on care - bathing, changing beds, feeding, etc. And I also got a chance to to a LOT of observing. The health care systems in other countries are quite different. As part of the process of attaining nursing registration here, I had to do a 6 week Nursing Competency Assessment Programme. That was two weeks of classroom work and 4 weeks of clinical placement. In my case, since I have had a lot of experience in cardiac and vascular, I was placed on the cardio thoracic ward. That resulted in my being offered a full time job effective as soon as I had my registration and practising certificate, which didn't take all that long. So, after working as a health care assistant for 7 months, I finally was able to work as a nurse. Now the registration process started for me 10 months before that. I was darned lucky to get into the Nursing Competence Assessment Programme, and it was only because I knew someone at the hospital who made a phone call and essentially, got me into that programme, that only ran 4 times per year and could handle 30 students each time.

Something you need to keep in mind, is that you, as an American, may be a very tiny minority where you are going, so don't expect then nursing council to automatically accept your education and background. There are places in the world where nursing degrees can be bought, so they tend to scrutinize this closely. We tend to think we Americans are the best there is, but other countries tend to be a bit more skeptical. (I have been a nurse for over 30 years, and still had to do the course, like any other foreign nurse.)

It is not at all necessary to use an international agency. In fact, I was in close contact with an international agency the was very encouraging - until I got to New Zealand, and then they were more like, "Well, contact us when you have registration and we'll help you find a job." No help at all in getting registration. I did it all on my own. But , the main thing is, get your foot in the door. And then, if you can prove your competence, you likely can get registration and that will open all kinds of doors.

The thing is, you must be prepared for this to take time. It won't happen in a matter of weeks - it can take months. So, think about if you are prepared to take the time, spend the money and endur the inevitable hassels of getting registration, when you might wind up working for a month or two before leaving the country.

You also need to look at the immigration requirements for Scotland. You might not be able to go there unless you have a job offer. Unfortunately, we can't just pick up and go anywhere in the world we want to. Sometimes you have to have a work permit in order to stay more than 3 months. So do check into this aspect as well.

Good luck!

[smitha 2010]

So Is it possible in UK to gain registration with an experience as a care assistant?

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

I suspect that you need to have this moved to the International Forum as few people in Gen Nursing will know the answer.

Your bigger issue is not can you get a license to practice there, but can you get the legal permit to work there.

The European Union nations are just as affected by recession as we are on this side of the great pond. And because of EU regs, foreign applicants from EU nations are going to be preferred, just as the US grants preference to NAFTA nationals in immigration. In my knowledge, the EU nations also protect their own citizens jobs more than the US does....given that there are plenty of nurses in Great Britain, and some have reported serious cutbacks in the NHS, a facility trying to prove the need to hire and grant work permit to a USC with essential no RN experience would quite difficult.

While I do not know about Scotland specifically, I do know some very experienced Aussie nurses that had their jobs pulled and had to return to Australia, when the NHS cutbacks started to kick in a few years ago.