Operating Theater nursing in UK vs US

[CranberryMuffin]

Hello...

Long time lurker, first time poster of a new thread.

I feel like this is a stupid question, but here goes:

I'm a US educated MSN student (with a MSN as a generalist), about to graduate and take the NCLEX here and work for awhile. I'm contemplating moving to the UK in a year or two after getting some experience and have been reading up on all the requirements for obtaining a work permit (which seems daunting, but I love the UK, have lived there before, and would love to go back). I've been thinking about going into OR nursing straight out of school, and was wondering if there are any differences between OR nursing in the UK and OR nursing in the US (in terms of training, and/or how nurses are licensed or validated on their training in OR nursing in one country versus the other). It does appear that it is on the shortage occupation list, so I was wondering if there is anything specific that I would need to take into consideration with training that could help ensure the training and skills (and experience) I gain are transferable to what is required in the UK.

Also, as a side question, while I love the OR, I worried about shooting myself in the foot by not getting some initial med-surg experience before moving into the OR. Will this hinder me in the future if I want to eventually go and work in med-surg or elsewhere?

Thank you!

[fusionfire32]

Hi,

I am currently working in OR in one of the NHS hospitals in London. I qualified in 2008 and got a six month experience within a medical/rehab ward in the same trust and then transferred to the OR. I can only relay my experience within the OR. I previously did not even step into the OR but my trust was opening job posts for those who had or did not have previous experience. I have now been working in OR for more than 8 months. first six months were my "supernumery" status and my sister taught me the scrubbing and circulating in one speciality. after 6 months i moved to a different speciality and am still learning while the basics remain same. after one year i will be doing an OR course which will give me wider experience in more than 6 specialities and also theory to go with it. but i think that if you want to do OR you need to get some experience in usa because it will definately help you to get registered over here. plus a lot of agencies will also help you to get a job. you may have to do an overseas nurse programme to get registered. dont know much about it. but would like to help if you have other specific or queries.