uk nurses who have come to the usa

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I am in the usvi, and have been here nearly a year, maybe all the nurses who have posted their news about immigration, can now post about the differences in the us hospitals. I dont think that american doctors and nurses fully understand where we come from, and the working environment of the nhs, its only when we get here that we can understand the differences. I am sure that stateside hospitals are different even from here. and that they also vary from state to state, but maybe nurses who are waiting to come will be able to pick up some tips and know more than us what to expect.

christine....from wales to scotland to united states virgin islands, and then to the states, in january.

hi, where I am there is orientation onto the floor, and lots of support from the majority of the staff and doctors, some are as indiffent towards us, the same as back home. but theres not a problem with taking your time and getting things looked up..ie, drug names. the meds come in single dose pre-packs from a computerised omnicell. after dispensing the med, I discovered that the americans call it one name and then the package has normally got the uk name on it anyway. lots and lots of abbreviations are used here, for all sorts of things. you just have to ask. usually the staff are amused by the accent, and the way we say some words compared to them.

I work on a surgical floor and am dealing with patients with injuries that I have never seen before......gun shot wounds and stab wounds. critical post-op patients, who unexpectedly become worse. at least one code a month. a lot more experience that I ever got back home its because its an island, that we have every type of patient all together, surgical, gynae, orthopaedic and medical when theres no beds there.

keep the info coming.........christine

Did you feel that the US supported you in areas you were unfamiliar with ie. heart/lung sounds, and drug differences(names)etc. Or were you thrown in at the deep end? How do you feel UK nurses compare with US trained nurses? The UK nurses who have been trained in the new system of training branch specefic? I am glad you started this tread. :balloons:
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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
hi, where I am there is orientation onto the floor, and lots of support from the majority of the staff and doctors, some are as indiffent towards us, the same as back home. but theres not a problem with taking your time and getting things looked up..ie, drug names. the meds come in single dose pre-packs from a computerised omnicell. after dispensing the med, I discovered that the americans call it one name and then the package has normally got the uk name on it anyway. lots and lots of abbreviations are used here, for all sorts of things. you just have to ask. usually the staff are amused by the accent, and the way we say some words compared to them.

I work on a surgical floor and am dealing with patients with injuries that I have never seen before......gun shot wounds and stab wounds. critical post-op patients, who unexpectedly become worse. at least one code a month. a lot more experience that I ever got back home its because its an island, that we have every type of patient all together, surgical, gynae, orthopaedic and medical when theres no beds there.

keep the info coming.........christine

How long did it take you to settle and adapt to nursing overseas? Did you feel you were like a duck out of water or is nursing just nursing?

Ps I too think this is a good thread thanks

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theres always a lot to do with settling in when you arrive in regards to living in another country, that when you finally start at the hospital you are quite gad to be in familiar territory, the first few days were spent in a classroom setting on orientation to just being employed by the hospital,lectures from everyone. the security, the organ donation people called lifelink, the pharmacy, just about every department talks to you, and you are given a guided tour of the hospital and introduced to everybody. the other staff are usually glad to see you joining the team and appreciate the fact that you have chosen to be there.

basic nursing doesnt change, but hospital protocols do. just have to be prepared to ask lots of questions without appearing to be a numpty.

even the nursing aides thought that I didnt know anything when I didnt swab fingers before checking blood sugars, and that I didnt swab prior to insulin and subcut injections!!!! they swab for everything.

christine

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
theres always a lot to do with settling in when you arrive in regards to living in another country, that when you finally start at the hospital you are quite gad to be in familiar territory, the first few days were spent in a classroom setting on orientation to just being employed by the hospital,lectures from everyone. the security, the organ donation people called lifelink, the pharmacy, just about every department talks to you, and you are given a guided tour of the hospital and introduced to everybody. the other staff are usually glad to see you joining the team and appreciate the fact that you have chosen to be there.

basic nursing doesnt change, but hospital protocols do. just have to be prepared to ask lots of questions without appearing to be a numpty.

even the nursing aides thought that I didnt know anything when I didnt swab fingers before checking blood sugars, and that I didnt swab prior to insulin and subcut injections!!!! they swab for everything.

christine

Morning,

Noticed you said in another thread that we pay off our time to OGP by working 40 hours a week and that after this time it is over time, does that mean we have an opportunity to do overtime and that we get paid for it if we do it? As I have a young daughter I may choose not to do overtime. Also I heard you can do a week on and a week off nights is this true?

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Brilliant idea thanks

I really love this thread. I need some quick tips from everyone please. I am about to go for only my second interview in two days time. It is for a ICU/HDU. I need any ideas about what you all would be looking for in a newly qualified nurse. What type of questions would you ask. I have a friend who is going to mock interview me. I do not have IV additives would this keep me from getting in. Worried about this or is this something they provide after you are hired? How soon after you all started working did you have to give IV? I know that the preceptorship is for 1-6months. I just really want this job. Thanks for any help.

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the way it works for OGP, is that you work in 2 week cycles, and in those 2 weeks...starting on a sunday, you work 80 hours. and as long as you work 80 hours, thats what comes off your contract. if you dont work the 80 hours for any reason then your contract gets longer than 18 months, as its worked out in hours, and each pay period will show the hours being taken off. it depends on the hospital tht you go to as to what hours or shifts you do. I could do days or nights, and I now do nights through choice. I start at 7.30pm and finish at 8am, but here there is no rush to get out the door, you finish whatever you are doing and give your own report. sometimes it can be 9.30 am before I leave, but you get paid to the nearest quarter hour. I work 3 nights one week and 4 nights the next, so the basic hours for that are 84, but recently I have been working extra shifts as we are short staffed and I have been averaging between 130-150 hours in each 2 weeks, which is 80 hours at straight time, and between 50-70 hours at time and a half. you dont have to work more than your hours if you dont want to, I also get paid for being in charge. sometimes I even get paid for my break, I am the only RN on with 2 LPN's and I have a patient that we think is post-op bleeding..may go back to the OR so I am unable to get my break tonight.

Morning,

Noticed you said in another thread that we pay off our time to OGP by working 40 hours a week and that after this time it is over time, does that mean we have an opportunity to do overtime and that we get paid for it if we do it? As I have a young daughter I may choose not to do overtime. Also I heard you can do a week on and a week off nights is this true?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
the way it works for OGP, is that you work in 2 week cycles, and in those 2 weeks...starting on a sunday, you work 80 hours. and as long as you work 80 hours, thats what comes off your contract. if you dont work the 80 hours for any reason then your contract gets longer than 18 months, as its worked out in hours, and each pay period will show the hours being taken off. it depends on the hospital tht you go to as to what hours or shifts you do. I could do days or nights, and I now do nights through choice. I start at 7.30pm and finish at 8am, but here there is no rush to get out the door, you finish whatever you are doing and give your own report. sometimes it can be 9.30 am before I leave, but you get paid to the nearest quarter hour. I work 3 nights one week and 4 nights the next, so the basic hours for that are 84, but recently I have been working extra shifts as we are short staffed and I have been averaging between 130-150 hours in each 2 weeks, which is 80 hours at straight time, and between 50-70 hours at time and a half. you dont have to work more than your hours if you dont want to, I also get paid for being in charge. sometimes I even get paid for my break, I am the only RN on with 2 LPN's and I have a patient that we think is post-op bleeding..may go back to the OR so I am unable to get my break tonight.

Can I ask what you get paid a month? just an average amount. If you dont want write it on here can you PM me because I know OGP pay the same and it will give me an idea of how much I am down thanks. I earn £26,000 plus so i expect to earn less in USA

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Can I ask what you get paid a month? just an average amount. If you dont want write it on here can you PM me because I know OGP pay the same and it will give me an idea of how much I am down thanks. I earn £26,000 plus so i expect to earn less in USA

The starting salary of a USA nurse is £30,000 pounds that is for newly qualified. Hope this helps. :balloons:

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are you quoting dollars or pounds?

$60,000 sounds a lot for a new grad...thought that they only earned about $17 an hour and that would be about $35,000 a year. thats with a hospital, not with the travel nursing agencys as they have to have a years experience to become a travel nurse.

The starting salary of a USA nurse is £30,000 pounds that is for newly qualified. Hope this helps. :balloons:
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Nursing salaries vary widely across the country. A new grad in San Francisco will start at about $30 an hour, in Kansas they may start at $16. I don't know many new grads who started at 60K a year unless they lived somewhere with a high cost of living.

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hi expat nurse...well how did the interview go? I presume that its the us where you are interviewing for? where I work the nurses put the iv access into the patients, and give all the iv drugs, antibiotics, pain meds and anything else that isneeded. nothing is iv pushed, on the floor its all put into 50ml or 100ml bags of saline and then piggybacked onto the main iv fluid line. if somebody has problems with getting iv access due to poor veins then they will get a central line put in, the doctors never even try to put the cannulas in like they did back home. its a skill that the hospital like you to have, but will help you if you have not got the competency to do it. we mix our own iv antibbiotics on the floor, but theres lots of us hospitals where the drugs come already pre-mixed, just ready to hang.

christine

I really love this thread. I need some quick tips from everyone please. I am about to go for only my second interview in two days time. It is for a ICU/HDU. I need any ideas about what you all would be looking for in a newly qualified nurse. What type of questions would you ask. I have a friend who is going to mock interview me. I do not have IV additives would this keep me from getting in. Worried about this or is this something they provide after you are hired? How soon after you all started working did you have to give IV? I know that the preceptorship is for 1-6months. I just really want this job. Thanks for any help.
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Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.
hi expat nurse...well how did the interview go? I presume that its the us where you are interviewing for? where I work the nurses put the iv access into the patients, and give all the iv drugs, antibiotics, pain meds and anything else that isneeded. nothing is iv pushed, on the floor its all put into 50ml or 100ml bags of saline and then piggybacked onto the main iv fluid line. if somebody has problems with getting iv access due to poor veins then they will get a central line put in, the doctors never even try to put the cannulas in like they did back home. its a skill that the hospital like you to have, but will help you if you have not got the competency to do it. we mix our own iv antibbiotics on the floor, but theres lots of us hospitals where the drugs come already pre-mixed, just ready to hang.

christine

do you need to do an extra course to do cannulation or is the course done in the uk ok? over here its an extended role, ive just completed the course, just need to find willing people to practice on.

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