US RN moving to London UK

heyred823, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2020

5 hours ago, jordanecc311 said:
I just went onto the Texas board of nursing website and printed out the certificate from the website. I also printed and attached a letter explaining that we do not get hard copies of our license.
the NMC, fortunately, is aware that nurses in the states generally do not get hard copies ?

Thanks, @jordanecc311 !

The closest thing to a certificate I can get my hands on is nursys.com's license verification report, so I downloaded that and uploaded it to my application. It's reassuring to know that they're aware most states don't issue a paper certificate, thank you for that info! I submitted my round one docs, so now I wait to hear if I'm eligible to register?

C. Southern, ADN, ASN · Jun 22, 2020

Hello Fellow Nurses!

I am happy to report that I passed my CBT this past Friday! I got my result the next morning (Saturday), which I found by logging into Pearson Vue's NMC account.

I now have all the leg work of trying to get a police check from the Us during this time, as well as a bunch of other things. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with the paperwork. Can any of the nurses who have successfully completed this process give any guidance on how to get all the paperwork done? I also don't understand why, if I trained in America, and I was born and raised in the US, I have to prove my English skills. Anyone know what this is about?

As far as the CBT went, for those that are wondering, I found it to be really really easy, especially in comparison to the NCLEX, which I took 6 years ago now. I definitely stressed too much over this. The math questions were super easy as well. They were like "You need to give 15 mg of this medication. You have 5 mg tablets. How many tablets will you give?"

I did study though. I used, as suggested in an earlier post, the Royal Marsden Manual to Clinical Nursing and I just basically did some light reading after doing the chapter quizzes on what I didn't know. What I would suggest, and what I did find a little difficult on the NMC's test was you need to understand and know about their screening tools like the NEWs, ACVPU, and MUST. The Royal Marsden Manual talks about all of these. There were a fair few questions on interpreting those screening tools. But mainly, most of it was about nursing professionalism and basic patient safety. It also wasn't like the NCLEX where they try and trick you on the answers to the questions and what they are really asking. The answers to me where quite obvious if you use your common sense. I finished in an hour, but I had gotten some advice, which I would definitely suggest, to take the time to go back through the entire test and just double check your answers. I believe this helped me in the end to pass.

Now on to the phase to finally register here.... Any advice from those who have done it?

alainamarieowens · Jun 24, 2020

On 6/22/2020 at 10:54 AM, C. Southern said:
Hello Fellow Nurses!
I am happy to report that I passed my CBT this past Friday! I got my result the next morning (Saturday), which I found by logging into Pearson Vue's NMC account.
I now have all the leg work of trying to get a police check from the Us during this time, as well as a bunch of other things. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with the paperwork. Can any of the nurses who have successfully completed this process give any guidance on how to get all the paperwork done? I also don't understand why, if I trained in America, and I was born and raised in the US, I have to prove my English skills. Anyone know what this is about?
As far as the CBT went, for those that are wondering, I found it to be really really easy, especially in comparison to the NCLEX, which I took 6 years ago now. I definitely stressed too much over this. The math questions were super easy as well. They were like "You need to give 15 mg of this medication. You have 5 mg tablets. How many tablets will you give?"
I did study though. I used, as suggested in an earlier post, the Royal Marsden Manual to Clinical Nursing and I just basically did some light reading after doing the chapter quizzes on what I didn't know. What I would suggest, and what I did find a little difficult on the NMC's test was you need to understand and know about their screening tools like the NEWs, ACVPU, and MUST. The Royal Marsden Manual talks about all of these. There were a fair few questions on interpreting those screening tools. But mainly, most of it was about nursing professionalism and basic patient safety. It also wasn't like the NCLEX where they try and trick you on the answers to the questions and what they are really asking. The answers to me where quite obvious if you use your common sense. I finished in an hour, but I had gotten some advice, which I would definitely suggest, to take the time to go back through the entire test and just double check your answers. I believe this helped me in the end to pass.
Now on to the phase to finally register here.... Any advice from those who have done it?

Hi there!
I just finished my entire process from CBT-on the NMC register this February and have been working in Glasgow, Scotland since then. It was definitely a headache going through all of the paperwork and tests, but doable!

You asked about having to prove your english skills...I would double check if you actually need to do this since you are from the US. I didn't have to (that was last July I submitted my paperwork), since I provided transcripts from a US university they said I would not have to prove anything. I don't even think I had to fill out any related forms or anything, but I know the process has changed a little bit.

CONGRATS on passing the CBT! Its good you already studied using the Royal Marsden as this will really help with the OSCE. Let me know if you have any more questions I am happy to help. I feel I gained so much knowledge about this process (especially since I did it on my own with no agency, no recruitment whatsoever).

Cheers,
Alaina

app22 · Jun 24, 2020

10 hours ago, alainamarieowens said:
Hi there!
I just finished my entire process from CBT-on the NMC register this February and have been working in Glasgow, Scotland since then. It was definitely a headache going through all of the paperwork and tests, but doable!
You asked about having to prove your english skills...I would double check if you actually need to do this since you are from the US. I didn't have to (that was last July I submitted my paperwork), since I provided transcripts from a US university they said I would not have to prove anything. I don't even think I had to fill out any related forms or anything, but I know the process has changed a little bit.
CONGRATS on passing the CBT! Its good you already studied using the Royal Marsden as this will really help with the OSCE. Let me know if you have any more questions I am happy to help. I feel I gained so much knowledge about this process (especially since I did it on my own with no agency, no recruitment whatsoever).
Cheers,
Alaina

Hi! I am also a fellow US nurse and will be moving to UK as soon as I can get my visa. I am doing the whole process on my own as well, and I am now to the point where all I have left is to get my OSCE done (whenever I can get to the UK and whenever the OSCE centers reopen) I am also doing everything myself.

Did you pass your OSCE by yourself on the first attempt? I have been watching Youtube videos and trying to familiarize myself with everything but I feel very overwhelmed..the skills don't seem hard but it seems to be a very specific/detail-oriented test and this is what worries me. Do you have any recommendations or tips? I have access to the Royal Marsden textbook!

Thanks in advance!

app22 · Jun 24, 2020

On 6/22/2020 at 5:54 AM, C. Southern said:
Hello Fellow Nurses!
I am happy to report that I passed my CBT this past Friday! I got my result the next morning (Saturday), which I found by logging into Pearson Vue's NMC account.
I now have all the leg work of trying to get a police check from the Us during this time, as well as a bunch of other things. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with the paperwork. Can any of the nurses who have successfully completed this process give any guidance on how to get all the paperwork done? I also don't understand why, if I trained in America, and I was born and raised in the US, I have to prove my English skills. Anyone know what this is about?
As far as the CBT went, for those that are wondering, I found it to be really really easy, especially in comparison to the NCLEX, which I took 6 years ago now. I definitely stressed too much over this. The math questions were super easy as well. They were like "You need to give 15 mg of this medication. You have 5 mg tablets. How many tablets will you give?"
I did study though. I used, as suggested in an earlier post, the Royal Marsden Manual to Clinical Nursing and I just basically did some light reading after doing the chapter quizzes on what I didn't know. What I would suggest, and what I did find a little difficult on the NMC's test was you need to understand and know about their screening tools like the NEWs, ACVPU, and MUST. The Royal Marsden Manual talks about all of these. There were a fair few questions on interpreting those screening tools. But mainly, most of it was about nursing professionalism and basic patient safety. It also wasn't like the NCLEX where they try and trick you on the answers to the questions and what they are really asking. The answers to me where quite obvious if you use your common sense. I finished in an hour, but I had gotten some advice, which I would definitely suggest, to take the time to go back through the entire test and just double check your answers. I believe this helped me in the end to pass.
Now on to the phase to finally register here.... Any advice from those who have done it?

Hi! It seems we are on similar steps. I passed my CBT and waiting to get my visa so I can go to the UK and do my OSCE. I got a police certificate from the FBI and it was easy enough to do online and you can go to your local police station to get fingerprints done or there are some post offices you can go to as well! Just Google FBI Identity History Summary Checks. I did it through the Electronic Departmental Order.

I also submitted a US transcript from my college for "English language requirement." Request an official transcript, send it to yourself, and upload to NMC website!

Make sure you have seen your health practitioner in the last 6 months. Then you will fill out their contact info, including their email, on your NMC online account. They will email your practitioner and your practitioner will click on a link that takes them to a secure portal basically just to approve that whatever health information you gave them is accurate.

alainamarieowens · Jun 26, 2020

On 6/24/2020 at 7:36 PM, app22 said:
Hi! I am also a fellow US nurse and will be moving to UK as soon as I can get my visa. I am doing the whole process on my own as well, and I am now to the point where all I have left is to get my OSCE done (whenever I can get to the UK and whenever the OSCE centers reopen) I am also doing everything myself.
Did you pass your OSCE by yourself on the first attempt? I have been watching Youtube videos and trying to familiarize myself with everything but I feel very overwhelmed..the skills don't seem hard but it seems to be a very specific/detail-oriented test and this is what worries me. Do you have any recommendations or tips? I have access to the Royal Marsden textbook!
Thanks in advance!

Hi there! Yes I passed the OSCE by myself on my first attempt. I took the test at the Northern Ireland location which I believe was a big factor in my passing as the staff there was incredibly friendly and encouraging during the test, and also they have a higher pass rate than the other testing centers. Are you already scheduled to take the exam somewhere? I would higly recommend the trip to Londonderry if you haven't booked elsewhere, it really was worth it.

I studied using all the online materials they provided me with (which was not much) and the biggest thing was understanding what they would be looking for during the test. The skills that were available to be tested on were not hard at all, and the APIE section is just general nursing practice, but whats tricky is making sure you demonstrate exactly what they are looking for and not miss any critical things (ex: asking for consent, hand washing, completing the provided paperwork within the time frame). I did most of my studying just reviewing the Royal Marsden procedures, and then looking at the frameworks online from the test center. They provided me with a list of the possible skills I would be asked to demonstrate, the critical features of each skill, and all the critical features of the APIE sections. After I could understand what they were looking for in each section I wrote a rough script for each scenario, and then just practiced it within the time limit over and over. I think this was essential because on test day my nerves definitely took over and the clock ticking is very stressful. So having a script in your head of what to say is one of the best ways to get through that. Even though in real life you could probably do any of these easy skills like removing a cather, doing a dressing change, giving medications, etc. without any difficulty, its really important to make sure you have an idea of how you will do all those skills within the time limit of test day and not forget to say any of the most important components of each section.

You will find a lot of resources online that have contradictory information about what to do in each section so my advice is to stick to whats on the blackboard site the test center gives you, use the royal marsden, and then use your own nursing knowledge and experience to come up with an idea of how you will perform all of that on test day. It's not the hardest test in the world, but you definitely wouldnt be able to wing it and pass like you could possibly on the CBT.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions, I am happy to help! I had so much trouble to find information online while I was studying!

Alaina

Sweetbeth · Jun 26, 2020

On 7/18/2019 at 4:00 AM, Daise said:
For a band 5 nurse starting in 2019-20 will get a take away salary of 1800-1700 in central London

Is this biweekly or monthly pay?

Thanks

jordanecc311 · Jun 27, 2020

7 hours ago, Sweetbeth said:
Is this biweekly or monthly pay?
Thanks

Monthly.

Haha. Bit of an adjustment coming from the states.

Sweetbeth · Jun 27, 2020

7 hours ago, jordanecc311 said:
Monthly.
Haha. Bit of an adjustment coming from the states.

How do you survive on 1800 per month? My take home RN biweekly check in the U.S is 2800, so in a month I earn 5600 after tax. How much would you pay for rent, gas, food, restaurant at least 2-4 times per month, minimal shopping etc.... plus have some money left for saving on 1800 per month?

canadian.j, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 27, 2020

2 hours ago, Sweetbeth said:
How do you survive on 1800 per month? My take home RN biweekly check in the U.S is 2800, so in a month I earn 5600 after tax. How much would you pay for rent, gas, food, restaurant at least 2-4 times per month, minimal shopping etc.... plus have some money left for saving on 1800 per month?

It really varies based on where you're living. London is definitely more expensive than other areas of the UK, even within London people may commute up to an hour to save on housing, but you'll also be paying more on transportation. Working with the NHS we do get the high cost area supplement which I believe is like 20% of our base pay (band 5 we start at 24900) then the supplement is added onto our pay which is like £4000ish, sometimes more, depends on where you're situated and your employer. My take home is roughly £1800-2000 with working weekends, nights and remember, that's also after your pension contributions. Food costs... not sure how it is in the states, I find it's comparable to Canada. I average £50/week on groceries. Transportation is about £5.50 a day to/from work which is average if you're living and working in central London (that's if you take the tube). If you own a car, may be difficult as parking can be insanely difficult to find, never mind the charges that you have to pay if you're living in London like the £15/day congestion charge if you're traveling into zone 1. Rent is another hit or miss, it depends what you want out of a living situation. It would be very difficult to be living on your own in London and be able to afford it on a nurses salary. A lot of nurses make it work by having flatmates, commuting a little bit further, and by picking up extra bank shifts at work. It's def a big pay decrease to come over here but you'll be saving in other areas, esp. if you're hoping to travel/explore other countries as you do get 28 days of annual leave to start.

jordanecc311 · Jun 28, 2020

20 hours ago, Sweetbeth said:
How do you survive on 1800 per month? My take home RN biweekly check in the U.S is 2800, so in a month I earn 5600 after tax. How much would you pay for rent, gas, food, restaurant at least 2-4 times per month, minimal shopping etc.... plus have some money left for saving on 1800 per month?

Yeah, I took a massive pay cut coming here too, but I agree with @canadian.j and pretty much second what was said.

I moved here to get married because my husband was already living in London and it was more important for him to keep his job. Fortunately our house is paid for. If that weren't the case, I would certainly have to have flatmates, although (and I might not be the best to ask because I loved my job in Dallas) I wouldn't have come over here to be a nurse if it weren't for my husband. Most nurses I work with have flatmates and are from other countries.

If you are wanting to live and work in central, you do get a higher salary, but housing costs are a lot higher too. I live in zone 2 and work in zone 4, so I don't get the high cost area pay. A lot of people choose to work in central and live further out and travel in. I think the high cost area pay even reaches to zones 2&3 though?

As far as food, groceries are a lot cheaper here than in the states. That has been a pleasant change. It costs a lot more to eat healthy in the sates than it does here. Good produce and meat is more affordable. As far as eating out at restaurants, I'd say it's relatively the same in pricing, but there's no expected tipping here.

I'm not sure what your shopping habits are, but I like inexpensive and there are great clothing stores here that are very affordable. Primark is my favorite.

Another great thing about working/living here is if you're into traveling. Getting a roundtrip flight to Italy or Spain could be as little as £50 for example.

As was mentioned, working nights and weekends pays more, so a lot of people request for or ask for those shifts. And you can always work an extra shift (bank shift) to make more money.

It's definitely an adjustment coming here from the states and you'd need to be ready to make those adjustments LOL. BUT there are a lot of great things about living here and so many people make it work and live comfortably. It really just depends on the kind of experience you'd be expecting!

yam, BSN, RN · Jun 29, 2020

On 6/24/2020 at 1:56 AM, alainamarieowens said:
Hi there!
I just finished my entire process from CBT-on the NMC register this February and have been working in Glasgow, Scotland since then. It was definitely a headache going through all of the paperwork and tests, but doable!
You asked about having to prove your english skills...I would double check if you actually need to do this since you are from the US. I didn't have to (that was last July I submitted my paperwork), since I provided transcripts from a US university they said I would not have to prove anything. I don't even think I had to fill out any related forms or anything, but I know the process has changed a little bit.
CONGRATS on passing the CBT! Its good you already studied using the Royal Marsden as this will really help with the OSCE. Let me know if you have any more questions I am happy to help. I feel I gained so much knowledge about this process (especially since I did it on my own with no agency, no recruitment whatsoever).
Cheers,
Alaina

Hi Alaina!

Hope you're enjoying Glasgow:) I know it has been a while for you, but do you remember needing forms filled out by your employer/manager in the US (if you were working as a nurse in hospital)? I'm silly and am torn because I love my job here, I really like my manager and I've signed a 1 year contract (6 months left), but I am afraid of telling them about my plan to leave the country fearing it ruins relationships/disappoints her/them.

Yamilet