is uk nursing qualifications the same as the us qualifications?

iNurseUK, RN · Jun 4, 2011

If qualified in the UK you will still need to pass the US NCLEX exam and reach the standards required for a US nurse.

Although I am English I think nurse training is better in the US so train there if possible.

The wrists problem? See occupational health. You can't be a nurse if you can't do certain things.

FLArn · Jun 4, 2011

If you have serious problems with your wrists, it might be problematic for bedside nursing in most areas which require hands on care. You may still be able to do other types of nursing such as occupational health, psych, Diabetes education, work in doctors office, telephone triage for insurance companies, etc.

skylark, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2011

Nurse training in the UK means choosing one of four specialities, adult, kids, maternity, (midwifery) or psychiatry.

The US qualification includes all four.

So if you train in the UK you will need to train in all four to be eligible to take the NCLEX, (unless you were lucky enough to train back in the 1980s as I did, when the training in the UK was much broader!)

If you can, I would suggest training in the US, then you will immediately be eligible to apply as an overseas nurse to work in the UK.

It doesnt work the other way round.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 4, 2011

As mentioned UK training is specialized and US training is generalized and unless your course in the UK meets US requirements and has clinical and theory hours in Paeds, Mental Health, Obstetrics and Adult you will not be able to sit NCLEX and work in the US. Also be aware of retrogression and that it will currently take several years wait for the US to issue a immigrant visa allowing you to live and work in the US and this has been ongoing since Oct 06 and I doubt it will resolve in the next few years

ZippyGBR, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2011

Although I am English I think nurse training is better in the US so train there if possible.
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i'd be interested to hear the rationale for that statement ...

skylark, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2011

Although I am English I think nurse training is better in the US so train there if possible.

I wrote about this myself in a different thread, and received some pretty hostile responses.

So even though I have explained this myself, I don't intend doing it again, just want to say I agree.

I'm not going to list my reasons again as I don't want any more hostility.

I have UK third year students on placement, so I feel that I am entitled to an opinion on this, but apparently not on this forum!! :uhoh3:

Perhaps someone else who has worked in both countries want to have a go. :yeah:

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 5, 2011

Not sure what hostile responses you received however like anything else you get good and bad students as well as good and bad university courses.

UK training is more specialised that the US that doesn't mean it is a bad course and at the end of the day the Government is paying you to train so you can work in the UK not once you have qualifie gallivant off to another country

I trained back in the 80's in the UK and I do think more emphasis is now on theory and not clinical but a lot will depend on students and how they put themselves forward to train whilst on the wards. I have worked with some really bad students and in the same breath worked with some excellent students.

Although I do not work in the US I do work in Canada now and there is a difference but I wouldn't say it was a bad difference just a different way on how things are done depending on the needs of the community. Here there is a major shortage of Physicians so demand is different again and I have had to get used to faxing a lot more stuff to doctors when I need orders completing or filling

DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 6, 2011

I can't comment on the US as I've never worked there, but as a British trained nurse who now works in France and thinks French training is heaps better, I'll say why.

UK training was excellent once upon a time, but in my last years in the UK (I left in 2001 and returned briefly in 2002/3) I found students less willing to "muck in" and more intent on stunning us older nurses with academic quotes and proving how old fashioned and out of touch we were. I'm not anti-academia - I have a BSc and an MSc myself, but have never used these to try and sound clever quoting Jean Beaudrillard when the subject in question is whether Mrs. X would be better off having a full bed bath or an assisted wash by the sink!

Starting work in France was a refreshing change - student nurses competent in all aspects of nusring care and technical skills by their 3rd year and generally having been trained to be competent all-rounders. I found UK students wanting to learn how to read ECGs before even knowing how to do one, or even knowing the basic anatomy and physiology of the heart, whereas a French student will be more concrned about having placed the leads correctly so that the ECG will actually be readable when the excrement's hitting the fan.

Something changed drastically in the 1990s in UK nurse education, and suddenly students came onto placement with an entirely different attitude. If I ask a French student to run and get me a high concentration oxygen mask, I know they'll do it immediatey because they appreciate it's an emergency. I've known UK students totally not appreciate the gravity of the situation by cockily responding "And what's wrong with your legs?"

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2011

I cannot comment on UK vs US training. I can say that with retrogression in place, immigration to the US would take several years after you obtain your degree. Add in that with thousands of US nurses unable to obtain jobs and job hunts for even a nursing home placement taking 1-2 years, the job outlook is poor. And as far as Hawaii goes, they have many new grads as well as experienced nurses that are having difficulty finding employment. Unfortunately, the cost of living is so high in Hawaii, that one cannot easily live there without a good job.

misswoosie · Jun 23, 2011

i'd be interested to hear the rationale for that statement ...

I'm not sure how many clinical hours are included in UK RN training now, but I think I'm correct to say both diplomas and degrees are 3 years full time.I did read that the time is divided equally between theory and practice, but of course some of that practice will be in the clinical labs. I don't think training in the UK is as good as it was in the 80s, when you still had to pass essay and MCQ examinations and had something like 3000 clinical hours.

In the USA it's possible to train to be a RN in 2 yrs and gain an associates degree in nursing (ADN).

Bearing in mind that ALL USA undergraduate degrees include college level English, Math and usually at least 2 other general subjects related to the major,2 YRS isn't adequate IMO

I have a friend who is half way through her ADN and IMO her course is crazy. They seem to whizz through huge amounts of theoretical knowledge where they are expected to know( and are tested on) for eg all normal lab values, blood gasses etc etc in about 2 weeks. The associated clinical placement is 2 x 5 hr "shifts" per week. They covered all GI A/P and associated diseases in 2 weeks.

Of course in order to pass NCLEX you have to know all this theory.

Even some of the 4 YR BSNs have only 700 clinical hours.

Maybe they aren't so concerned about clinical decision making in the US, as I gather that, unless you're a NP , you pretty much need a Drs written order for everything. Things that seem ridiculously like common sense to me eg if a venflon has been in situ for 3 days and not being used, pt is being discharged or it looks infected, then take it out and document it and inform the medical staff.Not rocket science!

ZippyGBR, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2011

I'm not sure how many clinical hours are included in UK RN training now, but I think I'm correct to say both diplomas and degrees are 3 years full time.I did read that the time is divided equally between theory and practice, but of course some of that practice will be in the clinical labs. I don't think training in the UK is as good as it was in the 80s, when you still had to pass essay and MCQ examinations and had something like 3000 clinical hours.

2300 hours in clinical practice as a Student and no hours as a rostered contribution to Auxiliary provision ...

I'm not sure that any suggestion of transferring skills lab hours from theory to practice has actually floated, and i'd argue that the problem with placement availability is an unwillingness of HEIs to look beyond traditional labels for certain placement areas - such as labelling tertiary units and CCU as 'critical care' and only using the areas for the short 'critical care ' placement

The academic requirements are streets ahead with a proper validated Higher education qualification rather than the academic component being deemed to be 'equivalent' to Cert HE. you only need to compare the levels of understanding and knowledge around the subject of 'traditionally trained ' vs HEI prepared for practice Paramedics to quantify the leap that moving to Higher education makes in a profession, in nursing the waters were muddied because there was a creep into early post -reg HE prior to the move to HE for pre-reg

The UK still maintains block placements with student working full shifts and expected to contribute to the RN workload in line with their seniority and agreed learning outcomes. Supernumerary Status is not an excuse to opt -out and it;s poor management by HEIs and 'failure to fail' by mentors that allows the myths about supernumerary status to persist.