Working As A Nurse In UK vs USA

World International Nursing Q/A

Specializes in ER, General Ward.

Can anyone compare the pros and cons of working in the UK & USA as nurse?

8 Answers

Specializes in NICU.

US nurses generally have a lot more autonomy than UK nurses. There is no separate licensing body for nurse practitioners.

Pay in the UK (as mentioned above) is dreadfully low. Starting salary for a band 5 nurse is approximately $28,000. I made more than double that as a brand new nurse almost 10 years ago...

Specializes in ER.

OK, UK has better vacation, usually 7 weeks, free health care, more job security, better training options (usually free), and the ability to move around the country while still retaining all your benefits.

US has better pay.

Basic salary yes is lower than the US but you only work 13 shifts in a span of 4 weeks. You can do extra shifts on top of that and you'll get a higher rate for those hours. Plus benefits are the annual leave which are paid and can be used all over the year. The chances if visiting European countries who we must admit are the best places to see in the world. Lastly it depends on you if you wanna be stuck as a Band 5z I became a Band 6 only after a year of qualifying and has proven to them that we filipino nurses can totally make it. So whether US or UK, as long as you are a globally competitive filipino nurse. Only speaking with regards to my experience as a nurse in the UK

I've been in this country for 14 years and salary remains low. Even if you move up a band 6 and above, salary remains low and expenses are getting higher. I am in process of my USA dream.

Specializes in ER, General Ward.
skylark said:

OK, UK has better vacation, usually 7 weeks, free health care, more job security, better training options (usually free), and the ability to move around the country while still retaining all your benefits.

US has better pay.

Thank you skylark! I'm new to this forum & I've seen some posts about this but it was posted in 2009. ?

UK is opened to Filipino Nurses. IELTS is required , CBT exam and the visa processing. Slightly lower pay if you deduct board and taxes.

USA. Difficult to get visa. Retrogression. NCLEX processing takes long time. CGFNS takes long time to verify documents.

Specializes in ER, General Ward.

Thank you guys for answering my question. The reason for this is that I have an opportunity to work as a nurse in the US and in the UK. I'm an NCLEX passer and CBT passer as well. I chose to push through with my UK application and I'm currently preparing my documents needed for DL. :)

Leviathan13 said:
Thank you guys for answering my question. The reason for this is that I have an opportunity to work as a nurse in the US and in the UK. I'm an NCLEX passer and CBT passer as well. I chose to push through with my UK application and I'm currently preparing my documents needed for DL. ?

I think you should have continued your US application or maybe continue it while in the UK. By now, probably you already know what nursing in the UK really likes.. and I bet it is far from what you have imagined, right?

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