Shouold I stay or should I go?

[Fonenurse]

The current climate in the UK and the job situation has now prompted me to consider moving to the USA. I know I said I would never do it, but no jobs and a possible looming redundancy have made me re-consider.

So I'm curious. What made you want to leave the uk, why did you go, and if you had your time over again - would you do it?

I think that it might take too long for me to sort out coming to the states before I get redundancy notice... especially if I wade through the paperwork alone. I wonder which is quickest, USA or Australia?

[english_nurse]

possibly if everything goes to plan but not everyone passes nclex 1st time or in our case it has taken a year to get i140

snap! same here too, i had the same facility interview me the day before and i agree with you when you say that the staff were postive about the facility, thats what i thought too, they were so nice, it made a change from the sniping that seems to be part of the job in the uk at the moment.

the hold ups have been a pain, and im sure there are hard times to come but im determind to get there and give it my best shot!

i looked into nursing in Aus, it seemed to be worse pay than we get here and behind the times, i may have that wrong but my friend who is there at the moment said there is alot of unrest there due to poor pay.

nothing worth having comes easliy or quickly thats how i see it

good luck

claire x

[Fonenurse]

nothing worth having comes easliy or quickly thats how i see it good luck claire x

I do agree with you Claire - problem is, with a break in service to the NHS when I had a back injury, I am not eligible for much of a redundancy payment and this means I need a job fast if I get made redundant. With 2 kids to put through college and a grandson, I can't afford to be off work for long - if at all! With the current climate of redundancies in the NHS there just aren't the jobs to go to in my area. Mind you - supermarkets prefer cash to promises, so beggars won't be choosers if I find myself in that situation...

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

I have to warn you things are not better than the NHS here, so please try to be prepared because you'll have a shock, if your expectations are too high. One OGP NURSE RECENTLY COMPLAINED AND WAS SACKED by both the facility and OGP, and then fined $15000 from OGP. I kid you not.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

It's the same here in the US!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Fone, if you're frustrated with nursing, give it some time before you make the jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Good luck.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Just to put my penny's worth in have you thought about going into practice nursing. GP's are always on the lookout even PCT's are doesn't always have to be trained/experienced in practice nursing (I wasn't) plenty of courses available to train up and nice working mon-fri (or whatever hours you require full/part time) and having every public holiday off Added bonus politics tend to be less but more and more stuff is being pushed into primary care

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Oh I dunno.......18 months sounds about right, took me 17 months from start to finish.

I started process approx Aug 2003 and if 1st hospital hadn't backed out resulting in dh changing his mind we should have been out there approx nov 2005 (passed NCLEX Mar 04) Even though not going anymore still processing I140 and waiting for approval and just recieved a letter from Texas as filed transferred from CA in march saying will take another 400 days to process application and that was refiled in July 05 :angryfire I would still go at the drop of a hat but know dh doesn't want to go anymore

[bettyboop]

Fone: I say with a big:w00t: go for it.

As top Scot says the batch we are in has taken a while longer but on the plus side it has made me more determined to get there, my I-140 has still not arrived hit the 1 yr anniversary the other day but i still am eager as ever to go.

Did the Australia USA debate but for me Australia is just far away from the UK if we did need to go back for a family emergency etc.

One thing i might add is you need the backing and support from family members, it can be quite a roller coaster ride.

Good luck with your decision.

Gale

[Belinda-wales, RN]

From my experiance any move is difficult just changiing trust within the NHS can be unsettling never mind changing countries. But to compair the NHS to nursing in USA is foolish they are completly different working environments both OG and my self have both worked abroad in the past and our experiences have been the same the first six months are hell you even considerd going home the next six months a little better by 18 months you should start to settle. I think as long you understand this it can help.

Also sometimes you look at what you have left and only remember the good bits which is human nature. You also must consider why you chose to go for us it is to travel to experience different why of living we know that we may enjoy it or we may not but what ever its what we want to experience as a family.

Kay - Although I belive your story about the member of staff getting sacked for complaing I never give an opion untill I have had the whole story but it sounds a bit fishy if ogp have dropped them as well as they are worth a lot of money to them.......

Cheere Belinda

[nubes]

I am having the same thots.... I moved from Spain to UK 6 years ago, did my 1st level training graduated in 2004 all with the intention of moving eventually to the States.

Now after 2 years having qualified my daughter will be marrying a Scotmans (im a single parent) and will be living 4 hours away from me as she does now.

If I continue ... I will arrive in USA at 50 years of age! Is that too old?

Plus I just got OGP interview pack today and if I don't comply with the 3000+ hours I would owe them 24000 US$ SCARY

Your comments would be most appreciated!

[letina]

I am having the same thots.... I moved from Spain to UK 6 years ago, did my 1st level training graduated in 2004 all with the intention of moving eventually to the States.

Now after 2 years having qualified my daughter will be marrying a Scotmans (im a single parent) and will be living 4 hours away from me as she does now.

If I continue ... I will arrive in USA at 50 years of age! Is that too old?

Plus I just got OGP interview pack today and if I don't comply with the 3000+ hours I would owe them 24000 US$ SCARY

Your comments would be most appreciated!

No, it isn't too old. I'm 51 and just about ready to leave for the US. You will find the US is not "ageist". There are many nurses still working into their 60's.

Think carefully before signing with OGP. There are numerous posts on here about this agency which you may find helpful in making your decision. There are other ways

[topscot]

I am having the same thots.... I moved from Spain to UK 6 years ago, did my 1st level training graduated in 2004 all with the intention of moving eventually to the States.

Now after 2 years having qualified my daughter will be marrying a Scotmans (im a single parent) and will be living 4 hours away from me as she does now.

If I continue ... I will arrive in USA at 50 years of age! Is that too old?

Plus I just got OGP interview pack today and if I don't comply with the 3000+ hours I would owe them 24000 US$ SCARY

Your comments would be most appreciated!

that sounds a bit much

we were told $8000,ogp are fine as long as you dont expect too much from them because they will let you down if i could go back to the start i would do it myself and ditch ogp

[nubes]

OGP, rates are $8000 if I pass NCLEX and then decide to not go to USA. US$25000 if after reaching USA I "fail to comply with the terms and conditions of the Agreement... on demand as liquidated damages".

Thank you so much for your replies... please keep them coming !