WrigleyRN

I hear you. I have no faith that the NMC will overturn any decision the UoN has made. I can't believe they failed you for the reason you said... and yet, I totally believe it because they are ridiculous and illogical and completely close-minded to evidence!! Either way, I'm glad you voiced a complaint. The more of us that do, the harder we are to ignore.

Green_Grass, yes! That's exactly right. There is a complete disconnect between registration of EU vs non-EU candidates, yet another senseless side of the NMC licensing process. Regarding pass rates, here is a link to an article in the Manila Times: Best of times, worst of times for RNs in the UK | The Manila Times Online According to this author's research as of Feb 7, 2016, looks like 1st time OSCE sitters pass at a rate of about 45%. Of those remaining who do NOT pass the first time, only about half are actually retaking the test. But of that group, they have about a 100% pass rate. Each first sitting costs £992 (!!!) and a second partial sitting costs £496!!! Holy mackerel! Where is all this money going?... Well, the UoN has just started construction on a brand new campus (Waterside Campus) at a cost of £330 million. See article here: Treasury backs Northampton University’s campus project | Education | The Guardian …Not to mention the substantial cost of staffing and maintaining the university's state of the art OSCE testing facility. They certainly do have a lot of debt to pay off in the coming years. I guess it makes sense, then, that they would charge us so much, and it also behooves them to fail us so we are forced to pay again!! Regarding my personal journey, I submitted an appeal to UoN administrators, but they rejected it. I have also lodged a complaint with the NMC, recommending that they completely remove the OSCE from their requirements. If they are looking for an extra vetting procedure to get an idea of our demeanor, I believe a Skype interview would suffice. If they need more, why not ask for a resume detailing nursing responsibilities and accomplishments? All of these options can be done with no extra financial burden to the candidate, from our home country. I would have submitted this complaint whether or not I passed the OSCE, based on the utter ridiculousness of the test. I strongly encourage any overseas nurse to do the same, whether or not you have taken, passed, or failed the OSCE! You can write an email complaint to the NMC using the email address found at the bottom of this webpage: Complaints about us You might consider any of the following as reasoning that the NMC should discontinue the test: ï‚· The test is invalid. It does nothing to truly test a nurse's competence or lack of. ï‚· The NMC is already doing enough by getting the nurses to do an IELTS exam, theory board exam, as well as requesting a years' experience, transcripts, police checks and references. That is more than enough to safeguard the public. The OSCE is therefore surplus to requirements. ï‚· The OSCE is immoral in that nurses have to either resign or take time away from work, travel to the UK, and pay £992 before receiving a license. If they fail the OSCE twice they now have to go home due to visa reasons. ï‚· The University is failing nurses for pedantic reasons. ï‚· The University's Nile website (the definitive resource for OSCE study and prep) contains extremely disorganized, excessive information, most of which is not applicable to the test. Yet they don't offer anything in the way of practice tests or examples, so there is no way to self-evaluate readiness to test. ï‚· Nurses are never given an opportunity to practice with any of the equipment or supplies used in the OSCE. So when we show up to a given station, we have 15 minutes under extreme pressure using materials we have never laid hands or eyes on before. This is an unfair scenario that sets us up for failure. On a positive note, I totally agree with you, Green_Grass, that this whole process is a learning experience, and an accomplishment just to get this far and take the OSCE. Even better for those who are able to pass and get a pin, and start working in the UK! I totally understand why nurses would want to retake the OSCE after a fail (might as well see this tedious application process through to the end after coming this far!). I've just made the personal choice at this point to cut my losses. I just hope that other nurses will voice their opinions and that the NMC will eventually ditch the OSCE altogether, for everyone's sake!

Hi there - thank you for the reply. I respect your experience and your perspective on this. I know you have seen a lot in your time as an IEN. However, I completely disagree with you. I, and all of us, do have the right to speak our minds if we feel we are trapped in an unjust system. The fact that other countries like Canada may have more extensive and expensive vetting requirements doesn't justify the NMC's requirements. It only shows that perhaps Canada is the most out of touch with reality, and needs the biggest overhaul of all. I understand a governing body like the NMC wanting to safeguard the public, and it is their duty to do so. However, it is also their duty to ensure their licensure requirements are valid and fair... Neither of which the OSCE is. As far as validity is concerned (and this is an important factor for a nursing organization whose bottom line is evidence-based practice), where is the literature that points to this test being an accurate (or even barely sufficient) determiner of competence? I would implore them to publish any literature they have used in the creation of this exam that shows it tests what it is supposed to test: a nurse's competence or lack thereof. In my case, because I didn't vocalize one line in my skill station, though it was obvious I had done the skill according to guidelines, they failed me. After all my years of applying, my years of practical nursing experience in acute care, my education, the theory test, the passing of all the patient journey aspects of the OSCE.... They will fail me and judge me to be incompetent based on the fact I didn't vocalize one line??? This is unfair, illogical, and insulting. Mind you, they have informed me I can resit the skills stations. This means they are generously allowing me to fly across the world, pay the excessive fee, pay for accommodation, take PTO from work... And try again to carry out these skills that could potentially be memorized and mimicked by anyone. I will not be participating in a resit. I have more self-respect than that, and honestly, don't desire to work in a country where well-qualified, experienced nurses are "welcomed" in this way. I am in a unique position to voice my opinion because I don't actually need to work in the UK. I just thought it would be a cool experience... unlike some of the other nurses taking the OSCE who must work in the UK due to a spouse living there, or whatever reason. I feel empowered because I, for one, am not beholden to the NMC. Thus, I feel I can and should speak up on behalf of everyone that feels intimidated by the NMC and doesn't want to rock the boat and potentially become a target for dismissal. I know there is already a movement of nurses who are trying to have the NMC do away completely with the OSCE. This is not a new idea. I just didn't know to what degree it had been voiced in an online forum yet. And I wanted to plant the seed here in the minds of competent nurses from around the world that... Things could change if we speak our minds. In the years to come, the NMC can and should grant licensure to qualified RNs without subjecting them to an invalid, redundant, meaningless OSCE.

I wonder if there is anyone out there who, like me, who has been slogging through the NMC application process and has taken or will take the OSCE? Are any of you ANGRY about the OSCE? I am. Those of us applying to be registered in the UK have been put through the ringer, been vetted in every way imaginable (references, one year of practical experience required, education hours, training hours, IELTS, etc), and the fact that they add a practical test on top of that is just redundant, unnecessary, and a huge waste of time and resources for everyone. Especially amid the UK nursing shortage, when they should be facilitating the immigration of well-qualified nurses, not hindering us! I recently took the OSCE and failed the skills section for absolutely bogus and arbitrary reasons. But before finding out that I had a "partial fail", I initially came out of that test feeling confident, like I had done well, and there is no way they would judge me to be an incompetent nurse. But despite my feeling that I performed well, I also emerged from the test simultaneously angry and frustrated, for having just committed 5 weeks of my life to stressing, floundering through disorganized, overabundant study materials on the Nile website, and traveling across the world... all for a test that clearly has nothing to do with assessing a nurse's competence. All the OSCE succeeds in testing is our willingness to jump through meaningless hoops and pay excessive fees! The fact that we are subjected to this psychological roller coaster is infuriating... especially from an organization whose bedrock is the holistic caretaking of all people! And why the exorbitant fees? Why do we have to repay the fee if we sit again for the test? Exactly whose pockets are we lining? The whole thing just rubs me the wrong way. I'm just appalled at what I and others have been through with the OSCE. I plan to appeal my test result and also lodge a complaint both with the University of Northampton and the NMC, who are the controllers of the OSCE. If anyone is interested, I will share what I write, and I encourage ANYONE who is frustrated to write to the NMC and make yourself heard!!!

I applied for Stanford's latest new grad program. They estimate they will have anywhere from 4-7 spots... for 600+ applicants!!! It's ridiculous. That's why I'm looking outside the Bay Area :-(

Thanks so much for the great advice! Do you by chance know which hospitals specifically need nurses? I will definitely look into this... :-)

I graduated from an entry-level MSN program in December here in San Francisco, CA, and I am willing to relocate basically anywhere in the country (or internationally!) to find a job! Does anybody know which areas of the country (world) may still be hiring a fair amount of new grads? Thanks!!