Nursing in the UK

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I am a registered nurse in the US, and I'd like to get some information on how nursing works in the UK...for example:

1. Are nurses called "Registered Nurses" or "Licensed Nurses" or are they referred to as another name? Here in the US, they are referred to as Registered Nurses (RN's).

2. What is the process for becoming a nurse in the UK?

3. How might a nurse in the UK be recruited to work in the US or vise versa.

4. What is the hiring process to be placed in acute care?

Thanks!:roll

I have been a RN in the US for almost 13 years. I have heard that in the UK Nursing is a much more united front and has alot of political strength. Here in the US we can barely be called a "profession" by the exact definition of the word because we are so fragmented. We have a national "governing body" the American Nurses Association, but only a small percentage of all licensed nurses in the US belong to it. It has been often said that US nurses "eat their young" and whereas I have always strived to be an exception to that rule I do see it happening. I am presently moving forward towards a goal of obtaining my Masters degree in Nursing so I can teach at the University level. In the meantime I would like to spend some time in the UK and other places to see how nursing is done in other parts of the world and cultures. I love my career and think it is the best choice for a woman or a man who desires to be in a caring field that offers a great deal of security, flexibilty and autonomy for those willing to take on the challenge. My husband went back to school after 15 years and became a RN (he was a police officer). :) Darci

Which is exactly why the government did so badly in last weekend's regional elections. If you look at the cantonal map of France it is now all red apart from Alscace which is the only region not to have gone socialist.

Unlike the British, the French don't vote for tax cuts every time. They are very attached to their (very good) public services, and if they see them under threat (as under the Raffarin government), they vote accordingly. this is somewhat different from the British who rather selfishly voted for 19 years of Tory tax cuts, and now wonder why they have rubbish schools, hospitals at crisis points and trains that don't work.

IF you can tell us the last time we had a tax cut i'll give you a fifty!!! And it's also because we have a bit more traction on lifes road of problems, considering france riots everytime the students are angry or blocades ports when the farmers subsidies aren't high enough. we cant vote for tax cuts.

Interesting posts.....I'm British born, emigrated to the USA 4 years ago and have just started my Associates Degree in Nursing, to become an RN. After that I hope to go straight on to get my Bachelors Degree. I've been trying to find out about the differences between British and American nursing, and whether I will be able to work back in England when (or if) we go home. Having grown up with the National Health Service, I am quite aware of it's limitations (spent many a time sitting in Casualty for 5 or 6 hours before even being Triaged, waiting 2 or more years for needed surgery etc.), However, I am also becoming aware of the limitations in US nursing - the most frightening aspect of which is litigation. Here, the RN is responsible for everyone else's mistakes - the CNA makes a mistake, the RN in charge of him/her is responsible. The doctor writes the wrong order for meds and the nurse gives it - the nurse is responsible. I've heard of several nursing students who have 'lost their licence' before they've even got it because of making a mistake. It's all very scary. As a student, I am finding that we have to learn about how to do procedures that we will never be asked to perform, because these procedures are only performed by Doctors - it's all a bit OTT for this level of nursing, IMO. We also have to assess whether the patient can afford the care we are recommending for them :( I don't have much experience of actually being a patient here in the US, other than being asked by my doctor which medications I would like to have (!!!!!), to which I replied "Isn't that your job to decide?" LOL! It gets curiouser and curiouser.....

Best wishes, Paint.

Partial quote

However, I am also becoming aware of the limitations in US nursing - the most frightening aspect of which is litigation. Here, the RN is responsible for everyone else's mistakes - the CNA makes a mistake, the RN in charge of him/her is responsible. The doctor writes the wrong order for meds and the nurse gives it - the nurse is responsible.

Best wishes, Paint.

Same here in the UK

[

... However, UK nurses are not responsible for heart/lung/bowel sounds, majority do not cannulate or catheterize. Nursing in the UK was very basic in compariosn to the US. US nurses are trained better and have more responsibility...ethically, morally, legally!

On the other hand, the patients were very grateful of their care and rarely complained.

(true, and they wouldnt just sue u for anything they can think of)

...Hmmm....i had my nursing education and degree very similar w/ the american standard but am practicing my profession now here in the UK.. i have learned the practical side of nursing here and there are practices which they called evidenced-based.. twas an eye opener for me somehow..that i dont have to swab the skin w/ spirit prior to my s/c injxns... been here for some time and i never encountered a problem related to it.. my experience here is not very basic..we do a LOT of cannulation, venepuncture, catheterization, pulling out of chest tubes (once assessed as competent), ECG interpretation, taking blood gases from ear lobes (capillary) and lastly... initiating non-invasive ventilation...of which id find myself jobless in america if i will pursue in this special area...

UK has made an important milestone w/ this treatment (whether acute or chronic respiratory failure focus) and Ive seen them save lives!!! Amazing...i believe this is not taking place properly in America yet..i dunno.. the rationale behind each nursing intervention in their practice may not be very very well defended by the new qualified nurses YET--but watch them grow (well, growth can be hindered if there's an attitude.. . the nurses you have worked w/ must have chosen not to be competent in doing those simple tasks...but as far as im aware, the Brits I and my colleagues have worked w/ r not helpless to carry 'em out...:rolleyes: How can nursing be so simple here that they have nurse prescribers, nurse consultants, medical nurse practitioners, etc..

i guess your awareness have been limited by your disbelief..

[

... However, UK nurses are not responsible for heart/lung/bowel sounds, majority do not cannulate or catheterize. Nursing in the UK was very basic in compariosn to the US. US nurses are trained better and have more responsibility...ethically, morally, legally!

On the other hand, the patients were very grateful of their care and rarely complained.

(true, and they wouldnt just sue u for anything they can think of)

...Hmmm....i had my nursing education and degree very similar w/ the american standard but am practicing my profession now here in the UK.. i have learned the practical side of nursing here and there are practices which they called evidenced-based.. twas an eye opener for me somehow..that i dont have to swab the skin w/ spirit prior to my s/c injxns... been here for some time and i never encountered a problem related to it.. my experience here is not very basic..we do a LOT of cannulation, venepuncture, catheterization, pulling out of chest tubes (once assessed as competent), ECG interpretation, taking blood gases from ear lobes (capillary) and lastly... initiating non-invasive ventilation...of which id find myself jobless in america if i will pursue in this special area...

UK has made an important milestone w/ this treatment (whether acute or chronic respiratory failure focus) and Ive seen them save lives!!! Amazing...i believe this is not taking place properly in America yet..i dunno.. the rationale behind each nursing intervention in their practice may not be very very well defended by the new qualified nurses YET--but watch them grow (well, growth can be hindered if there's an attitude.. . the nurses you have worked w/ must have chosen not to be competent in doing those simple tasks...but as far as im aware, the Brits I and my colleagues have worked w/ r not helpless to carry 'em out...:rolleyes: How can nursing be so simple here that they have nurse prescribers, nurse consultants, medical nurse practitioners, etc..

i guess your awareness have been limited by your disbelief..

I was going to defend my 'basic' skills as a nurse, but I couldn't have said better myself. Thank you.

.... No where is perfect, no one is perfect. And personally if I had had as bad an experience as you I can assure you I would not have stayed in that hospital a minute longer then necessary, but you did , two years. So how bad was it really?

I agree...

This is what happens: a fellow nurse who acts like she knows evrythin..as in omniscient, ends up doing all these kind of jobs.(cannulating, venepuncture, etc..etc.) because she enjoys the drawn attention that only her can do it right... unknown to her, it could be done purposely..

well, i enjoyed working w/ my mate who is very excited to show off his skills...saves me efforts..more tym for my cup of tea...

I was going to defend my 'basic' skills as a nurse, but I couldn't have said better myself. Thank you.

Dun mention, matey!! Cheers!!

absolutely right, Go for it ! you will only become a better nurse. I went to the UK not long after I graduated and I love it and i love what I have learned and How I have changed for the better because of this experience. I was only going to stay for a year but it is almost seven now!

absolutely right, Go for it ! you will only become a better nurse. I went to the UK not long after I graduated and I love it and i love what I have learned and How I have changed for the better because of this experience. I was only going to stay for a year but it is almost seven now!

I have been reading on this thread and I really enjoy learning about nursing in other countries. I have a question for the UK nurses. I am a RN in ICU and one of my basic skills is to auscultate heart/lung/bowel sounds to aide in assessing my patients. I have read in numerous places that UK nurses don't auscultate heart/lung/bowel sounds. So my question is, How do you assess your patient's condition? For example a patient having shortness of breath. The very first thing I would do is listen to lung sounds. If the patient has rales in all lung fields, I am going to think the patient is fluid overloaded and I would prepare to give the patient lasix IV push. If I didn't hear any lung sounds, I would probably think pneumothorax and prepare for a chest tube insertion. (of course these are just worst case scenarios) Another example would be someone that has had abdominal surgery and listening for bowel sounds to return. I am just interested in what techniques or what procedures UK nurses have for patient assessment in situations similiar to the ones above.

Schroeder

Specializes in ICU,acute respiratory care..

It's exactly the same as you do.I work on acute respiratory ward and we are handling all cases of acute/chronic resp problems including CA's and some of the cardio.We do have a separate bay which we called the non invasive unit,a high dependency for type II resp failure,OSA etc.using the nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation.Nurses with expanded roles handle these cases,situated on the same ward.In addition to the basics/bedside care,we do blood gases and interpretation,ecg,venepuncture and cannulation etc..we are more on breathing assessment but we do the full one on admission or regularly and as required.I think,it depends on which ward you are working on and the nurse with limited skills only because we do not perform a certain thing that you are not confident to do unless you have attended a training and assessed as being competent.

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