Want to hear the experience of a UK nurse coming to the US to work.

cariad · Feb 6, 2008

everyone comes to the us for different reasons, personally, i just wanted to do something different. i had no support system before coming here and none when we arrived either. even now the only support system that we have is an english family who also came over here the same way that we did, only at a later time. but with no relatives here we use each other as a back up system if we need each other. we still sometimes feel lonely and on our own, but thats just a way of life now, i suppose leaving our family back home makes us feel like that, and of course not having a big circle of friends. i did find allnurses not long before we came, but didnt find the information given on here much help. it doesnt really make sense until you get here. nursing is definitely different over here, as you must have picked up from other threads. the biggest difference is the medical nightmare of being ill with your medical bills, but thats another story.

vesperk · Feb 6, 2008

I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2008

1. what made you want to come to the us to work? i lived here as a child, have family in the us and wanted to come back to live all my life.

2. what was the process of coming here like? frustrations? how was the transition? it was for me a very simple process coming to the us. the transition period is hard and probably takes a year or more to settle for most people. trying to establish some roots. many frustrations like understanding how things work ie credit scores, etc.

3. do you or did you have a support system in the us to help you adjust? no my family live ina different state but i suppose they supported me by phone. we were very isolated. we learnt fast and furious but alone. now i have a good support network-friends fromn the uk and new friends from the us. i have recently been sick and my co-workers have been fantastic and very caring.

4. did you have friends or family working in the states already? yes as said above

5. what are the differences of working in a us hospital vs. a uk hospital? where do i begin

6. are there any good uk websites that you used while living in uk? allnurses but as cariad said nothing prepares you really-as each individual family will go through different experiences. homesickness initially was something i was unprepared for.

suehp · Feb 7, 2008

1. What made you want to come to the US to work?
We wanted to live in Florida for a long time before we came here - and we liked the way of life.
2. What was the process of coming here like? Frustrations? How was the transition?
The process was extremely frustrating to say the least - for me anything that could go wrong did go wrong and just when we thought ahhhhh this is it - something else would happen! The paperwork is a complete nightmare.....but now when I think about it and when i drive to work it is ALL WORTH IT IN THE END!!!
3. Do you or did you have a support system in the US to help you adjust?
I had no real support system here except for one british family who came out here 2 weeks before us....we both worked at the same hospital on the same shift and then both moved to another hospital 5 months later. We have no family here but do have some really good friends here who we have got close to....
4. Did you have friends or family working in the States already?
No friends or family only who I previously mentioned.
5. What are the differences of working in a US hospital vs. a UK hospital?
The biggest difference I have found is that you have less autonomy here (compared to my previous job in the UK) - you cant fart sometimes without getting an order from the Doctor - sometimes it is so ridiculous to call a doctor for what we have to especially for me on the night shift...so I have to be proactive and make sure I dont have any issues that are simple as I aint calling a doc in the middle of the night to get my head bitten off lol (but to be fair the majority of ours are ok - they get into trouble if they are rude to nurses here!!!)
The difference in billing is something else too - you cant see a nurse until you have seen a clerk about your insurance and payments etc first
the good thing is though you dont have the looooooooooong waiting times as you do here - you can get allsorts done within days to weeks here compared to months over in the UK.....
Some doctors offices if you see someone with a book be prepared to be there all afternoon.....I had a 10 am appt with my PCP (Primary care Physician) and I came out at 1pm....ridiculous really....
there are good pointa and bad poins - i could go on for ever!!!!
6. Are there any good UK websites that you used while living in UK?

yes there are but I will have to get back to you on that one!!!

vesperk · Feb 11, 2008

Thank you very much for your input!

Hagabel · Feb 15, 2008

1. tired of earning peanuts in UK and broke up with an ex bf, seemed like a good time.

2. Long process, worth it eventually, major culture shock for 1 year or so.

3. Yes, fellow nurses who came out with me and then hubby(was fiance at time) moved over.

4. No not before I came, no.

5. Too many to mention. Prefer nursing here to UK but get very frustrated with abuse of ER by pts and problems with medical insurance etc.

6. Not really apart from this one.

vesperk · Feb 15, 2008

Thank you so much for your response. Very helpful.

vesperk · Feb 15, 2008

You said you get frustrated with abuse of ER by pts and problems with medical insurance. Can you elaborate on that a bit? What is pts?

suzanne4, RN · Feb 17, 2008

pts means patients.