US NP moving to England

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Hello

I was wondering if I could get some insight into this situation.

I will be a newly minted NP in the US very soon. I am in a situation where I could possibly move to England. Does my licensure and certification (qualifications) transfer over smoothly to England from the US? I will not have any experience as an NP before I make this move. Is that an issue? Moving with no NP experience. Do they look at the RN experience or does it not matter?

What are some of the things I would have to do there to get certified to work there? Would I need to go back to school at all? Or resit my boards?

Also, are there differences in what NPs can do in the UK vs US? If so, what? Is the pay equivalent?

I would also like to mention that I only have a couple months of RN experience in the states (as I have been reading on these boards, that at least to work as an RN in the UK, you need 1 year of experience in the country you trained in), as I went straight through to my masters for the NP degree, I do not have this. Don't know if that would change my NP status at all in the UK. In the US it doesn't matter if you are looking for an NP job and not an RN job.

Please, any and all insight is appreciated! TIA :)

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Specializes in ER.

There are already at least a dozen threads here asking about US nurse moving to the UK.

But if you cannot find them, then read the criteria for yourself at the NMC website.

Trained outside the EU/EEA

Pay is a lot less BUT you get 7 weeks vacation, unlimited sick leave, paid study, and 1 year maternity leave.

Its more difficult for NPs to move countries, I was an NP in the UK but am an RN in the US, even with 25 years experience.

Less than 2 years experience will almost certainly block you from applying at this time.

I would also risk saying that most NPs are recruited internally, when they are already RNs, although there might be exceptions.

I doubt anyone would recruit a foreign NP with no NHS experience.

NP is very different in each country, for example, if you don't prescribe then your might not meet the criteria for a UK NP.

It also varies between specialties.

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I was looking at going to college in the UK, and they didn't accept international students. Their nursing programs were divided into specialities, such as peds, mental, and adult, which the US courses just teach a little of everything? It must be really different there.

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Specializes in NICU.

You'll need a UK RN license in order to practice as a NP and in order to get your RN license in the UK, you need a year of practice. In other words, you won't be able to practice in the UK without working in the US first.

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Does it matter if that year of experience comes as an RN at the bedside or as an NP in the clinic? Will they accept a year in any capacity and role? Or just as an RN? Thanks!

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Specializes in NICU.

I don't know; you'd have to call or email them to ask. If you get a answer, be sure to post it so others can learn.

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