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

Any mental health nurses willing to opine? I work in the acute adult directorate and after positive pilots of a crisis resolution service, my trust is now implementing this service with a view to it becoming the gatekeepers of our service (previously, referrals were tertiary or from primary care-GPs and emergency services and also community mental health teams/assertive outreach teams for fast-tracked patients) The crisis resolution teams have significantly reduced inappropriate/social admissions in other trusts and considering our bed occupancy usually runs at between 150-200% I'm quite excited about it.

Oh, A Happy New Year to everyone!

In response to your post #9 regarding your experience working as a Nurse in the UK, I am sad that your experience wasn't a positive one. I am Scottish Nurse (RGN) now living and working Canada. First of all I think and in fact I'm sure that while in the UK you were working in a setting that perhaps even British trained working Nurses would have no particular respect for. Like all countries, there are institutions of varying quality and reputation. This is unfortunate of course but that is a fact. Unlike US residents, who are probably familiar with only their own surrounding health care facilities, that being that there are many States and the US is an enormous place. In the UK and especially in and around the cities, almost every Nurse knows of every Hospital - it's reputation and standing in the community. Because of this, British Nurses choose very carefully where they wish to work and this is in part due to protecting their own professional reputation and to gain the most out of their training. In other words, and at the risk of mentioning the British Class system, perhaps we are a little bit snobbish in this respect.(Pleaseeeeeeee for the Brits, undertand why I made this statement because you know what I am saying here even if our American counterpart doesn't) It may be compared to, for example a British Nurse working in the States in some small community hospital with a poor reputation, and over-worked minimally qualified staff, and never experiencing the wonderful professionalism of a larger US University affiliated Hospital. Of course, the British trained Nurse's experience would be negative just as your's is. With regard to your overtly rude and insestitive comment that US Nurses are better trained. I agree with another person's post that it has nothing to do with being better trained. It's about difference. British Nurses are very highly trained and I disagree completely that we have or take less responsibilty. I'm sorry but it is clear that you have absolutely no idea at all about the philosophy of Nursing in the UK or the components of our training, basing your arrogant opinions on your one experience. I trained in Scotland and albeit, our training is a little different even from the English training in certain aspects, ALL OF US BRITISH NURSES are exceptionally well trained and able to perform great care in all aspects.. When I came to work in Canada, I was shocked to discover that Nurses didn't do half the things that we were trained to do as Nurses. I also found that instead of using initiative to assess a patients pain needs or whatever and act accordingly by using our own jugement, the policy in Ontario AS IT IS IN MOST OF THE us is to pass the buck and run to get a 'Doctor's Order' for Tylenol!!! There is some comparison between Canadian Nurse practice and the American system and therefore I feel that I know what I'm talking about. Would you like me to go on!!!! I don't think so. Besides, we should be focusing on improving Nursing standards everywhere and instead of negative criticism, we should be trying to understand why we have such differences. For any Canadian Nurses viewing this, please do not be offended. My experience has been excellent but I think our American frind needs to be educated. Now at the risk of being sarcastic and I'm shocked at myself for being so but I have to say that I'm wondering if your choice of Hospital in the UK was because you perhaps weren't qualified enough to work in one of our very fine reputable teaching hospitals. My experience of many Americans is that they don't even know the difference between Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales. We are all British. A little lesson to be learned...be kind, polite and respectful. Think carefully before dishing out insults. Venting is good but this forum is hopefully about positive criticism and a learning tool.

Having trained in the U.K. and having worked in both the U.K. and North America I am really shocked at Mancusaoe's post. I dont know if she was trying to wind us all up but I am shocked that someone with her self professed skills, knowledge and experience should make such sweeping statements against a body of co workers who I am guessing treated her with more respect then she now shows them. If her post had identified her problem with one particular hospital then I could understand her "opinion", but to include the entire nursing profession of England Scotland and Wales is dreadful. Shame on you. I found good and bad in both my experiences in the U.K. and North America but so what. 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 don't see why this thread has degenerated into a "we're better than them" type thing. I have worked as a nurse in Canada and the US, and worked with nurses from all over the world. In no way does that make me capable of generalizing to the extent that I have seen people do on this thread. Saying UK or American nurses are better trained, or work less, or all "pass the buck" by getting a doctor's order or anything is a bit excessive. I am sure we can all agree that every country has great and not so great facilities and nurses.

I have been considering trying the UK, and I can only hope that I would be welcomed if I do:) The vast majority of UK nurses I have worked with have been professional and friendly, so I hope they are representative of the majority in their homeland.

I agree with the UK nurses (sorry US counterpart). My first job in nursing was in a Level I trauma center in EAstern North Carolina. THis was late 90's. They relied on travel nurses to a degree.

I worked with a nurse from the UK (correct me if I am wrong) that went to school in Midworcester. She was awesome!!!!!!!

She was very astute on changes in her patient (including sounds) and ensuring they got the care they needed from our medical counterparts.

The nurse MUST be holistic and an advocate for our patients!!! This differentiates us from other ancillary folks.

My last post on this this particular subject. I'ts good, as I said to vent and of course no matter where we are, we all have something to vent about. I agree that the focus should be on exchanging ideas and learning from each other and I'm sure we could all learn a lot by doing this. However, we are all human and have feelings. I think mancusoa, your insensitive comments are offensive more because you sort of just did a sweep of all British trained Nurses and their apparent incompitence. That is just simply rude and I see you have tried to justify yourself in a follow-up post. I can just imagine that on your return to the US, you had plenty of negative things to say and that is very immature. I have to say that your comments about "They came to me for this and that"...and "I taught them this and that" What rubbish (BS in America) Are you not embarrassed by your own comments? It's obvious that you have caused offense on this board and although I don't like to be childish myself, the truth is that you have just made me mad and I think WE ARE ALSO GRATEFUL THAT YOU ARE BACK IN THE US! (by the way I live in Canada and I feel embarrassed for you) You must have really missed your sneekers, scrubs and stethescope that so many of your type feel validates you as a professional. My advice to you would be to first of all grow up and learn some manners and secondly to throw away your arrogance and stop being so silly. Im absolutely sure that if you had experienced working in a large teaching hospital in the UK, you would NEVER have had this negative opinion and you would certainly NEVER have had to 'teach' anyone anything. You would have been treated with respect as a visitor, your knowledge appreciated and more likely you would have learned a lot. Sooooooooooo smarten up Mancusoae and have a BIG MAC on me!

Well said Aphrodite. Simply put, there are good nurses and bad nurses all over, the same as there are good people and bad people. You just don't expect to come on this BB and get insulted by ignorant sweeping statements by someone who thinks they know the entire nursing profession in Britain by one supposed bad experience. Well, I was working with an American nurse a few weeks back and I found her arrogant, ignorant and lazy. But I didn't make the ignorant generalisation that ALL nurses in America are like that, because I hope I can see beyond that one bad experience and don't have a myopic, self-righteous opinion of myself.

nurses in US are trained differently to us UK nurses but are no way better than us. We all have our own roles to carry out and as said by someone else there are good and bad nurses everywhere

Greetings!

Wow, this whole US/UK issue is a heated subject. I will assume that any situation depends on your expecations and what you make of it. I remain openminded on the subject.

Anyway, to my questions :p

I am a Nursing student in the US and my long range plans include spending a couple of years (or possibly more) over in the UK.

I would like to get a general idea of the atmosphere of the health profession in the UK and the working environments for RN's.

Is there room for growth in responsilbity and pay? Meaning if you really apply yourself and acquire more responsilbity, can you grow professionally as well?

Is the field respected in the UK?

Are there many nurses who specialize in particular areas (infectious disease, oncology, etc.)?

Which area do you think has the best working enviroment? Public, private? Institutional hospitals or small practices?

What is the general relationships between nurses and doctors? Who is doing most of the care and evaluation?

Thanks so much.

Specializes in LTC.

As I said before, I'd like to learn more about nursing in both the US and UK.

I'm a USA nursing student, with a lot to learn.

Any who would like to pm me, feel free.

By the way, if I'd show up to clinicals without my stethoscope, I'd be sent home!

Wow...I thought the Revolutionary War ended a long time ago!

This reminds me of when I was going through the Prado, and some other Americans were *****ing that the Met was better. What are you doing here, then?

I find it hard to believe that the UK is completely bereft of any nurses with comparable ( or better, for that matter) critical care skills...heck, even usual nursing skills. Don't they have ICU's, too? Is there no trauma in the UK? They don't do major surgeries there, either? Who's taking care of these pts., Mary Poppins?

Sorry to you UK nurses who have had to endure the bratty behavior of some of your colleagues from the US. Not all of us feel that way about you.

Seems to me I recall that Florence Nightengale was British.

(I also agree with the poster who wondered why the US nurse stayed for 2y in a hosp. that was such a snake pit, by her description.)

In response to your questions, there is always room for growth in responsibility and pay, if you are willing to apply yourself, you can grow professionally, there are many exciting and new opportunities within the UK in nursing and if you are inclined to study and work hard then you can only go up!!

As for whether nursing is respected in the UK, it depends on who you talk to!!! Nurses would say "NO", the public would say, "YES" it depends on how you classify respect.

Many nurses in the UK specialise in various fields, if you know the area you want to specialise in then go for it, if not then I would say work on a general medical/surgical ward for 6-12 months to get a feel for the type of nursing/patients you want to care for.

Same advice I would say as to whether you go public or private. The NHS, does offer it's staff some incentives, as for the private sector I'm not sure having never worked in that environment.

I think the relationship between nurses and doctors probably varies from hospital to hospital or practise to practise. I am lucky that the doctors I have worked with respect nurses as a profession and value our opinions and expertise, but I do know of nurses who have said that some doctors have treated them as second best or "hand maidens"

As for caring and evaluation, if you work within a hospital environment and you have a good multidisciplinary team then the care and evaluation should be a joint effort.

Sorry for the length of this post, if you need any information then just ask!!!

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