RN job in UK

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Jul 4, 2015

I'm not from the UK, so please take my message with a grain of salt. I've got family who work in healthcare in the UK, and I've considered traveling there as a travel nurse. From what I understand (again, I'm no expert), this may be the situation...

According to what I understand, the NHS has been overfunded in a way that isn't sustainable, so NHS funds are being cut back. The easiest way to cut funds is to cut salaries, since salaries are the greatest expense that a heath care organization has (I've heard in the US that nursing salaries comprise 70% of a unit budget). Therefore, there is a nursing 'shortage' so to speak because hospitals are cutting positions and there aren't enough nurses to manage current patient loads.

Here's how I'd interpret this from my own personal experience. When nurses are expected to carry a huge, unsafe caseload, a lot of them quit. However, this isn't good for new grads!! Units with very high turnover and consequently poor staffing (at least in the US) generally will only hire experienced nurses. Here's why: When a unit hires a new nurse, that nurse is generally very unproductive since they have to be supervised during orientation; the hospital is paying a ton of money to train you while you provide relatively little independent care. Here's another way to think about it: if unit is understaffed, hiring experienced nurses will solve the problem; however, having a ton of inexperienced new grads running around requiring supervision will only stretch the remaining experienced nurses even thinner.

In short, the answer may be both: there is a shortage, but those jobs aren't necessarily going to new grads. That's definitely the case in many parts of the US. I'm sure that the situation will vary greatly by region and hospital, but this may provide some insight to the situation. Hope this was a little bit helpful!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 4, 2015

From the UK here

Although I no longer live in the UK the 'shortage' generally depends on where you want to live and work. Some areas will have a shortage like London because the cost of living is high and other areas like Lincolnshire also have shortages. But other cities may not have a shortage so will vary.

Lots of jobs are advertised on the NHS jobs website but if sponsorship is required then finding a hospital willing to go through the process if from outside the EU may be hard. Also the government has a cap on work permits and the cap has now been met.

NMC also is not an easy process to go through especially at the moment as things changed and still going through a lot of issues. To work as a RN in the UK you must go through the NMC process.

Water Lilly · Jul 6, 2015

From the UK here
Although I no longer live in the UK the 'shortage' generally depends on where you want to live and work. Some areas will have a shortage like London because the cost of living is high and other areas like Lincolnshire also have shortages. But other cities may not have a shortage so will vary.
Lots of jobs are advertised on the NHS jobs website but if sponsorship is required then finding a hospital willing to go through the process if from outside the EU may be hard. Also the government has a cap on work permits and the cap has now been met.
NMC also is not an easy process to go through especially at the moment as things changed and still going through a lot of issues. To work as a RN in the UK you must go through the NMC process.

Hmm thats odd. Well few months back i was searching RN jobs in online in my country's (non EU) job website, found NHS were COMING in 3 major cities 9in my country) to recruit nurses. By the way i didnt search NHS website for jobs, just they were coming in my country to recruit nurses got hooked with the thought of RN jobs in UK.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Jul 7, 2015

Hmm thats odd. Well few months back i was searching RN jobs in online in my country's (non EU) job website, found NHS were COMING in 3 major cities 9in my country) to recruit nurses. By the way i didnt search NHS website for jobs, just they were coming in my country to recruit nurses got hooked with the thought of RN jobs in UK.

What country are you from, Water Lilly? I've definitely known people from the US taking travel nurse contracts in the UK, ranging from 6 months to 2 years. As I mentioned in my earlier comment, units with a nursing shortage may prefer to hire experienced RNs rather than new grads; travel nurses must have at least two years of experience (preferably in a specialty area like ICU, tele, OR, psych, etc.) I've heard that it's easy enough to get an international contract; however, if you want to stay long term (i.e. multiple years) you could have trouble getting a visa...unless you find a cute Sherlock Holmes :specs: and have a green card marriage, lol. If you speak fluent English (which I would imagine you do, based on your post), you could also travel nurse in the US, Canada, and Australia. Lots of international fun to be had.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 7, 2015

Hmm thats odd. Well few months back i was searching RN jobs in online in my country's (non EU) job website, found NHS were COMING in 3 major cities 9in my country) to recruit nurses. By the way i didnt search NHS website for jobs, just they were coming in my country to recruit nurses got hooked with the thought of RN jobs in UK.

But it will depend on the area that the recruiters are coming from. Plus the cap has been met at the moment that the government has set down and they will have to apply to the government to go over the cap. Even then to work as a nurse in the UK you must go through the NMC process and currently that is taking months and months to go through. Also the NMC requires 12 months work experience as a RN either as a volunteer or paid

Britrn04, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 8, 2015

I wonder how it would work for me. I have a BSN, but I have a British passport and still a UK subject. I know I'd need to go through the the nursing council but I wouldn't need a permit visa. Do you think this would improve my chance?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 8, 2015

If you have a passport for the UK then you do not need anything except NMC and getting a National Insurance number. Yes it will improve your chances of job but won't help with the process for the NMC

Britrn04, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 8, 2015

Yes, I have a passport and NI number. All my family is there; I married an American and am US trained. Just something to ponder with my parents getting older...not a process I would really like to endure with NMC. Thanks