SrnaRN

oh, no, not at all, i did think that you wanted to demean me. whatsoever, i was just pointing out my opinion and experience. as far as this statement" " the higher the banding the more stressful the job is, something that i do not find in the us." i've already said my opinion on it. it may be really strange if your observation re work load is the way it is. perhaps, you should speak to your manager and gain some more information about her/his workload before you make a statement like the one above. again i am not going to talk about the pay system in the usa, 'cause i come from there and am very well aware of how it works, but instead will point out this: "in no way is it demeaning to be in the bottom band, for a lot of nurses in the uk theres no more jobs in the higher bands because of the shortage, and lots of these nurses do a good job, and are happy doing it." i do not know why are you saying the above, 'cause i was never saying anything of the sort let alone that it is "demeaning" (the word that you've used?!) to work in the bottom band. whatsoever! and please do not suggest any preconceived opinions regarding my own statements, instead really read to what i am really on about. thanks :-) and at the end , all i can say, i wish that i have not mention my baby, 'cause it certainly doesn't have anything to do with my job and the way i will organize my own job/baby care workload. again thanks for your concern. there is a possibility i've misunderstood you. i'll be glad if i have.

Breathing treatments?! And yet again , some RN's do not insert Foley Caths...Strange. Sorry to hear for your experience 17 years ago. I can assure you that it is not like that any more. It is ok to prove ones own quality work, but to start from the bottom just because one is from another country is another issue. Mind you, I myself am not talking about managerial position that I'd be aiming for here in the UK. I just simply want to start at the level that I was after I took time off and to be paid accordingly (of course I am not talking US pay rates:p I am aware of the obstacle you've mentioned. I will try my best. New names of equipment and drugs won't be a problem for me at all. I understand that for the UK nurses when they come to the USA, it is a big problem, 'cause we deal with a high tech nursing. As far as IM injections, I presume that things here changed as well after all those years I see what you say, but med.insurance deduction was really minimal, or at least in my case it was and I did not see it as a reduction in my salary. I must say, that I can't agree there with you. Everywhere in the world, not to say in the USA the higher the position-the higher the expectations and responsibilities. At least it was wherever I worked.

"Although we have seniority in the UK when it comes to holidays it is generally done on first come first served, also accepted when working in a hospital setting that holidays over Christmas and New year is not allowed (unless working in a mon-fri setting within in the hospital that usually closes over holidays) and only once the off duty has been done for that period and staffing levels sorted is anyone given the chance to request some time off over that period and of the 3 bank holidays over Christmas/New year you are only entitled to 1 off. That is how it has worked in the hospitals I have worked out, others may have a slightly different take." The above is the nature of nursing job and it is the same no matter where you are with a little differentiations. Sorry to hear about NHS problems though. It is really bad. I had worked with a lot of UK nurses that came to work in the USA (mind you, now I see why , and in no way they were demoded or made to work something that they've not done before, not to say made to start from the bottom. They may not become a charge nurse at once, but they certainly won't work below their level. And certainly, they'll be paid the same according to their experience and degree level. Anyways, good luck in Canada! :-) It might still be different there due to them having a free health care just like UK. I hope it won't be as bad for you there as it is for me here. If anybody has any more suggestions to the resolution of my problem or anything to say on that respect, please you are welcome to participate. We are all here to help and inform each other. I was doing the same back home when I trained UK nurses. It was only my pleasure:up:

There is nothing wrong with being "at your own level" of work and working part time for anybody, especially for the working mom. Here we're talking starting from the lowest and settling just for any nursing job, and the only reason for that as implied by Cariad, is that I am a working mom?! I just simply do not see the connection?! The fact that an experienced nurse from another country should start at the lowest level is degrading enough, you think? It might be the case here in the UK, but it doesn't make it right, doesn't it? "Also considering nursing is predominantly female we actually are not family orientated and the shift times are awful" Sorry, but the above statement doesn't really make sense to me? Everybody has a family life and we're not talking about jobs being "family orientated". I guess, perheps I should have not mentioned that I have a little baby...Darn As far as your thoughts of USA nursing, I think you're wrong. It is a very difficult market on which you have to survive using a lot more effort than here. Just the fact that we have a lot more autonomy than UK nurse makes it darn more responsible...I do not even want to start talking about maternity leaves and other "benefits" for the working moms ...simply because there are none

wow cariad :-( , that really sound discouraging. with my low expectations, i even feel worst now! mind you, was that your experience in the uk given that you're the usa nurse? or maybe you're an uk nurse who moved to the usa? i do not think that being a mother needs to have anything to to with the level of ones professional occupation though. apart that such a woman could choose to work part time, i do not see any other reason why a working mother should be professionally degraded. silverdragon102 and rgn1 thank you for your help and suggestions. i really appreciate it and will certainly take it on board when looking for a job. i probably have a lot more questions, but i can't think of any at the moment. abiola :-), thanks a lot for your support:cheers:

:-))Thank you for the info you so kindly provided! Even if I 'd known the name of the hospital for which you work, it would not hurt you in any way but would only help me in search for the potential job site. I do respect your discretion though. Interesting to know for the "banding" system...It just isn't fare. Ok, maybe it would make sense in my case, but just because I've been out of practice for 2 years. Still...I think that I 've already achieved a lot of skills which (due to my absence) need "brushing up". That also eliminates a lot of training (at least in my area of expertise) that a novice nurse would have have to otherwise undergo...Strange, but I guess the whole NHS is in crisis and it goes hand in hand. Mind you, if AFC is not a football club what does the abbreviation stands for so I can look it up? Holiday time and sick pay is very important of course, especially in my case with a 6 month old baby, so obviously the more-the better for me. That is why I would probably squint around the pay rate a little bit in favour of the latter two. I've looked for example on the link for the Guy and Thomas Hospital someone left, and there are a lots of band 5 positions openings, but the problem is that all of them are full time. I really could not work a full time any more because I have a little baby now even if I would be interested to work for the NHS. I guess, I am worried that nobody would want to hire part time RN? Maybe I am wrong... Also, as bleak as at least NHS jobs sound from the description of others and to the large degree, my own experience as a pregnant patient (Royal Free Hospital-Hampstead where I live), I've come to conclusion that I probably would not be happy working for NHS. I am just simply not used to be treated only as a "body", especially coming from such an acute unit in USA where nursing is indeed a lot different that the one in the UK. If RN1 means adult general nurse (which I knew) what would than RN2 mean? About documentation skills :-)) Do not worry, I come from the USA. Thorough documentation is something that we're used to working for the all private healthcare system...:-)Our practise is always in danger of undergoing major lawsuits.

Dear RGN1, (is it the same as RN1 which is what my NMC registration entry says? Also, is that what a band is? Or rather, who determines which band you fall into?!) Of course I would consider private sector! :-)) That is the reason I am looking into the plastic surgery -Harley street type of jobs! Coming from the USA, I find nursing here quite an adventure...and a lot different that back home, but due to other priorities in my life, I am ready to make "sacrifices"... Anyways, I could not PM you, so I'll just be rude enough to ask you couple of questions this way: 1. How does private sector job compares to NHS job (with the exception of salary obviously)? 2. What is the holiday/sick time like? 3. What is the patient/nurse ratio? Let's say on the post procedure cardiac intervention/surgery Unit? and last but not the least :-), 4. Which hospital do you work for ? Thanks a lot!

miswoosie, why you would not come to work in the UK. I've just done it and just wondering what is so different here than in USA (apart from salary that is ;-)?

Hello misswoosie, Unfortunately I have not worked for 2 years (if that's what you mean), so that may be an obstacle in getting a job quicker. In spite of that, I still think that my previous experience form the USA will make me "desirable" in any working environment. The only thing is will anybody want a cardiac RN in plastic surgery is another matter... Why would I be band 5 RN, the lowest one? With all this experience specialized in cardiac care, why would I start at the band 5 level?! Just because I'm in another country or? I do not think there should be a difference unless one is a newly graduate. Did you have a bad experience or you've heard from somebody? Another question that somebody touched lightly is a salary level? How much is an actual RN (with my profile) salary? Is it really the case, like someone previously mentioned, that there as well, I'll have to start form the lower pay just because I have no working experience in this country? Thank you for all your replies.

Hi, Suzanne4, Thanks for your reply first of all! Yes, you are right. I am a permanent resident due to a marriage visa, do that's not the problem at all. Problem is that, as far as I could understand so far, there are agencies in this country that are looking for the jobs for you. In the USA, going to the actual facility-hospital/clinic is the best and the quickest way to get a job and I was always getting one literally at the time of the application. It is here that I do not know how things work. Also, I do not know how much is a decent RN pay? Will I not have problems when transferring my skills to the complete different type of nursing?! I have no training in plastic/cosmetic /skin care surgeries. As far as being hard to find a job in the UK, I guess it is very much different then in the USA. Luckily, I am not a newly graduate so hopefully finding a job for me will be at least a little bit easier?! I hope some other people will join with their replies :-)

Anyways... I've finally obtained my RN licence here in the U.K. It implies that my original licence as well as my nursing education was completed elsewhere, i.e. the USA, Florida. I've not been working for two years as a consequence of moving to another country (from the USA to the UK, London where I currently live) and being pregnant. Now that I am finally registered with the NMC and my son is 6 months of age, I am ready to go back to work. The only problem is that I do not know how to go about looking for a job here in the UK and specifically in London. Just to tell you a little about my career: I've been working in PCU/ Critical Coronary Care (telemetry + post open heart surgery unit) for at least 5 years (which is basically ever since I graduated and got my nursing licence) and for the last 2 years, as I said, I've taken time off. I do not think that it will be hard for me to go back to coronary care nursing, but the only thing is that I may want to change my career path a little bit...I've been thinking about maybe going to work for a plastic surgery office or some skincare clinic (i.e. on the famous Harley Street). The question is: 1. Do I need some special qualifications in order to make this transition, or it won't be so hard to do? 2. How much does it pay? Mind you, how much would a job of my profile pay here in the UK (London) to begin with and then would a plastic surgery job pay more than for example an NHS job ? 3. NHS job vs. private sector job? Which one pays more and what are the benefits of one over the other? As you can see, I am completely clueless and really do not have anybody in my current surrounding who is an RN to direct me a little bit! Any contribution to my topic will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance :-)