Hey! I'm an RN in the U.S. and am looking to work in the U.K. Would anyone happen to know anything about the process of a foreign-prepared nurse getting hired in the U.K.? From what I've seen it seems there are two routes; getting hired through an agency/travel company or getting hired and sponsored by a hospital in the U.K. directly. I'm undecided (given the fact that I know little) about which path would be best to pursue, as there seem to be few reputable travel agencies and I'm not sure how I'd best go about trying to contact a hospital directly.
Would anyone who has done this before have any recommendations? I've heard more stories about agencies doing more harm than good, but I wouldn't know the process for trying to get hired by a hospital directly.
Hi Kaitfinder, my situation is very similar to yours! I have 1.5 years of experience as an ICU nurse in California. My S.O. is moving to London at the end of the year, and I'd like to find work as a nurse in the same area. I'm currently researching how to go about finding employment abroad. Did you end up going through an agency or did you seek employment directly? Both my S.O and I plan to work in London for a few years and then return to the US. Any tips and insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Kaitfinder, my situation is very similar to yours! I have 1.5 years of experience as an ICU nurse in California. My S.O. is moving to London at the end of the year, and I'd like to find work as a nurse in the same area. I'm currently researching how to go about finding employment abroad. Did you end up going through an agency or did you seek employment directly? Both my S.O and I plan to work in London for a few years and then return to the US. Any tips and insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I think I'm going to go through an agency; as I currently only have 2 yrs ED experience, I wanted to focus on getting my CEN and TNCC to bolster my resume so I'd have a higher chance of getting into an ED (A&E) in the UK, as I really am not interested in working in any other department. Because of that, I think an agency would be more likely to hire me since a hospital will quite possibly not be willing to front the (what I have researched to be) quite significant sponsoring costs for a nurse from another country with just 2 years experience. On paper, it doesn't sound so good, regardless of my actual skill level as a nurse.
Snoopy4
5 Posts
Hi Kaitfinder, my situation is very similar to yours! I have 1.5 years of experience as an ICU nurse in California. My S.O. is moving to London at the end of the year, and I'd like to find work as a nurse in the same area. I'm currently researching how to go about finding employment abroad. Did you end up going through an agency or did you seek employment directly? Both my S.O and I plan to work in London for a few years and then return to the US. Any tips and insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!