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!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Process: Part I
For anyone curious as to how I have managed to get myself licensed as a registered nurse in the United Kingdom, this is the blog for you. Believe me, this was no easy task and was incredibly time consuming. I first contacted my agency in June 2011 and received notification on February 17, 2012 that I was approved to go to the UK. And my agency said I did this process "quickly".
I will take you through the steps I have gone through to help any nurse thinking about licensure in the UK or anyone even remotely curious in the process.
Step One: Contact an international travel nurse agency. My agency from the start has been Continental Travelnurse based out of London.
Step Two: Take the IELTS (aka the International English Language Test) to prove you can speak english. Yes, I know you have an american birth certificate but according to the Brits that does not prove your literacy. There are multiple test centers around the US so you should have no trouble finding one. You are only required to take the academic version of this exam.Website: http://ielts.org/ . This will cost $185.
Step Three: Got your IELTS score back? If it is atleast a 7 or higher and you hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing obtained from a 4 year university then you are ready to apply for your initial nursing application from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the UK. This initial application will cost you about $220 (140 pounds) and will come out of your own pocket. The agency will contact the board and get this application sent to you in the mail (or the post as the brits would say).
Step Four: The first application is a breeze and only requires a few documents suchs as certified copies of your passport, birth certificate, and verification of licensure from your nursing board. Answer basic quesitons and post it back to the NMC. BOOM!
You are now halfway there!! Take a breather and we will resume the process in the next post titled, The Process: Part II. For now though I think you have earned yourself a cup of tea and a nap because the second half requires a bit more energy.
I will take you through the steps I have gone through to help any nurse thinking about licensure in the UK or anyone even remotely curious in the process.
Step One: Contact an international travel nurse agency. My agency from the start has been Continental Travelnurse based out of London.
Step Two: Take the IELTS (aka the International English Language Test) to prove you can speak english. Yes, I know you have an american birth certificate but according to the Brits that does not prove your literacy. There are multiple test centers around the US so you should have no trouble finding one. You are only required to take the academic version of this exam.Website: http://ielts.org/ . This will cost $185.
Step Three: Got your IELTS score back? If it is atleast a 7 or higher and you hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing obtained from a 4 year university then you are ready to apply for your initial nursing application from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the UK. This initial application will cost you about $220 (140 pounds) and will come out of your own pocket. The agency will contact the board and get this application sent to you in the mail (or the post as the brits would say).
Step Four: The first application is a breeze and only requires a few documents suchs as certified copies of your passport, birth certificate, and verification of licensure from your nursing board. Answer basic quesitons and post it back to the NMC. BOOM!
You are now halfway there!! Take a breather and we will resume the process in the next post titled, The Process: Part II. For now though I think you have earned yourself a cup of tea and a nap because the second half requires a bit more energy.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
And so it begins.....
I suppose I should begin my very first blog by saying that I am a complete stranger to this whole thing. I am not a tweeter, a journalist, or a writer of any sorts. I am simply an american nurse living in Texas who is relocating to London (yes, I mean in England). I thought it would be a great idea to document my journey for all of my family, friends, and fellow nurses.
I guess it's good to begin with a short history of my life so you can get a better picture of the crazy nurse you are about to follow. I was born and raised a true cajun girl in Lafayette, Louisiana. I stayed in my home state for college (Geaux Ragin Cajuns) and completed my Bachelor's degree in nursing in 2009. I then relocated to Austin, Texas out of sheer boredom and the need for excitement.
Once in Austin I took a job in adult telemetry for 1 year. If anyone wants to know what a-fib and palpitations feel like, I suggest you work on one of these units straight after graduation. As painful as this experience was it has ultimately made me a better nurse, and my team was spectacular.
After that golden year was under my belt I landed the job I had wanted in nursing school.... PEDIATRICS!! I have been working at this wonderful job for 13 months now and am loving this population. And sadly, although I work at a pretty amazing hospital with the most amazing team, I began to feel restless again just 6 months after starting. This can't be it can it? I mean, I love my job, my friends, and my family is within an easy 6 hour drive away, but something is missing. I just can't quite put my finger on it. A boyfriend, you say? husband? kid? Nope, none of those are my answer. It's something else. A need to explore something completely different. Something out of my comfort zone. Something....foreign?? AH HA! That's it!
That brings us to the next question, why England? Why something so far away where everyone talks funny and no one eats barbeque or crawfish etouffee?? My family certainly thought I was insane when I first mentioned this. But if you know me, you will know I have an insatiable appetite for traveling. It has been this way since my first vacation to Florence, Italy in 2007. Since then I have been numerous places from India to Thailand to Ireland. I even spent a summer semester in college in Paris, France. I like to call myself the aimless wanderer.
I chose England because in the 3 times I have visited London, I have made wonderful friends and fell completely in love with the city. There is just no way to see this entire city and what it has to offer in just one short vacation. And let's be honest, the fact that they speak english (though incomprehensible at times) is a bonus. On the nursing perspective, I have no idea what to expect. That simple fact makes it the most exciting. This will without a doubt be the most difficult and challenging self-inflicted task I've had to face. But if you are ready and would like to follow, I will walk you through every step of my life changing process, including giving you my perspectives on adjusting to life in foreign city as an american, a nurse, and a single lady.
I guess it's good to begin with a short history of my life so you can get a better picture of the crazy nurse you are about to follow. I was born and raised a true cajun girl in Lafayette, Louisiana. I stayed in my home state for college (Geaux Ragin Cajuns) and completed my Bachelor's degree in nursing in 2009. I then relocated to Austin, Texas out of sheer boredom and the need for excitement.
Once in Austin I took a job in adult telemetry for 1 year. If anyone wants to know what a-fib and palpitations feel like, I suggest you work on one of these units straight after graduation. As painful as this experience was it has ultimately made me a better nurse, and my team was spectacular.
After that golden year was under my belt I landed the job I had wanted in nursing school.... PEDIATRICS!! I have been working at this wonderful job for 13 months now and am loving this population. And sadly, although I work at a pretty amazing hospital with the most amazing team, I began to feel restless again just 6 months after starting. This can't be it can it? I mean, I love my job, my friends, and my family is within an easy 6 hour drive away, but something is missing. I just can't quite put my finger on it. A boyfriend, you say? husband? kid? Nope, none of those are my answer. It's something else. A need to explore something completely different. Something out of my comfort zone. Something....foreign?? AH HA! That's it!
That brings us to the next question, why England? Why something so far away where everyone talks funny and no one eats barbeque or crawfish etouffee?? My family certainly thought I was insane when I first mentioned this. But if you know me, you will know I have an insatiable appetite for traveling. It has been this way since my first vacation to Florence, Italy in 2007. Since then I have been numerous places from India to Thailand to Ireland. I even spent a summer semester in college in Paris, France. I like to call myself the aimless wanderer.
I chose England because in the 3 times I have visited London, I have made wonderful friends and fell completely in love with the city. There is just no way to see this entire city and what it has to offer in just one short vacation. And let's be honest, the fact that they speak english (though incomprehensible at times) is a bonus. On the nursing perspective, I have no idea what to expect. That simple fact makes it the most exciting. This will without a doubt be the most difficult and challenging self-inflicted task I've had to face. But if you are ready and would like to follow, I will walk you through every step of my life changing process, including giving you my perspectives on adjusting to life in foreign city as an american, a nurse, and a single lady.
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