I just realized there have been people who actually read this blog and I cannot believe I have let myself abandon it! It has been just over a year since my last post and what a year it has been.
The Process Part II took me to Bournemouth, England to complete a month long course required by all overseas nurses. So after all of the paperwork, waiting around, and two license fees later it was finally time to embark on the journey which officially started in April 2012.
I arrived to the windy (and rainy) south coastal town of Bournemouth on April 22, 2012. I chose to stay in a homestay type situation with a single woman named Judith and her cat, Karen. She was recommended to me by my nursing agency. It turned out to be a great situation since I had my own comfortable room and bathroom. Judith and I ended up getting along brilliantly and we still catch up on facebook every now and then. I should mention it was the wettest spring England had seen in a long time. That didn't make this place any less charming. I walked everywhere and loved going for jogs on the pier and having coffee's on the beach.
Now on to the less charming part....The Overseas Nurse Programme, as the NMC calls it, was really just a very large book, lots of writing, and lots of looking up documents on the internet and reading them. You meet in person 3 days out of the 20 days of the course and the rest is all play time and self study. At the end you turn in your completed book, take a 50 question test, and once you pass, the results get shipped off the the nursing board. It takes 4-6 weeks for them to issue a pin number (your license to practice). In that time I went home to visit the family but the friends I made went traveling. I also have to mention that you must fund your time abroad while doing this course. This was the most expensive part of my journey since I had no job. I did however manage to save money before coming over. Realistically look at saving between $3,000-4000 for this month abroad (mostly because the US dollar is drastically reduced when converted to pounds). It also depends what you want to do with all of the free time. My new friends and I ate at every restaurant in Bournemouth, explored in and around the city, and took trips to Spain, Poland, and Romania. Needless to say, I had an absolute blast.
That month was an amazing one. I was new to this country and things were finally starting to become real. I made an amazing group of friends and still am very close with all of them. We all live within 20 minutes walking distance from each other. They have become my family away from home and my favorite travel companions. Mainly because we all share the same ideals and passions for new places. The group consists of 4 New Zealanders (the Kiwi's) and 1 Aussie.
This is really just the start! I promise to post more about the actual nursing here and all of the amazing things I have been doing in the past year!
