# American RN to Uk RN??



## windofmysoul (Dec 9, 2009)

Hello, 
I am trying to take all the right steps to see if my current Associate's Degree in Nursing will be accepted by the NMC and have just sent my information to NARIC and am awaiting their reply; I know it will be a few weeks before I hear from them. It is so hard for me to wait, though, as so much depends on if I can move this summer or go back to school for my bachelor's degree. 
Anyone with any advice? Thank you for your time!! Kindest Regards~Franzi


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

windofmysoul said:


> Hello,
> I am trying to take all the right steps to see if my current Associate's Degree in Nursing will be accepted by the NMC and have just sent my information to NARIC and am awaiting their reply; I know it will be a few weeks before I hear from them. It is so hard for me to wait, though, as so much depends on if I can move this summer or go back to school for my bachelor's degree.
> Anyone with any advice? Thank you for your time!! Kindest Regards~Franzi


I've done a bit of research on this and it appears that recently NMC has raised the barriers for non-EU/EEA nurses to be registered, with a lot of very detailed and bureaucratic requirements. For example everyone, including native English speaker, has to take IELTS test to prove their proficiency in English. And your training provider for nurse education has to complete very detailed forms setting out the content of the training you've received. One sticking point for many seems to be you need to have had a minimum of 4600 hours of direct nursing training, with half of that in a classroom or lab setting and 1533 hours in clinical settings. There doesn't seem to be an easy conversion tool for US credit-based record to the one computed by hours. You also need to remember (this is something I know about, as I have a family member in nursing here in UK) that there are fewer entry-level jobs available, and even newly qualified UK nurses are having trouble finding posts. This is to do with cutbacks in NHS. Another complicating factor is since EU/EEA-trained nurses can have their qualification recognised without assessment and language test, and since they can work without a work visa or permit, most employers don't sponsor non-EU nurses for visa, except for specialist and senior posts of which there is still a shortage. So the best course of action seems to be (but you must take professional advice on this) that you should get at least a few years' post-registration experience in US, perhaps taking further qualifications, before venturing to look for opportunities in UK.


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## windofmysoul (Dec 9, 2009)

Hello, and thank you once again for all your time and wisdoms!! In my excitement to post, I forgot to talk about the fact that I am American born, but through my mother I have Swiss Citizenship, with a Swiss passport, which I believe gives me EU privilages. While I think this will help me bypass the Visa part, I don't know if that will have any affect on my Associate's Degree qualifications?? Also, I have been working for 5 years as an RN already, would that somehow hlep with the amount of classroom/clinical hours needed?? Thank you Joppa, you've helped me in the past!!! Sincerely, Franzi







Joppa said:


> I've done a bit of research on this and it appears that recently NMC has raised the barriers for non-EU/EEA nurses to be registered, with a lot of very detailed and bureaucratic requirements. For example everyone, including native English speaker, has to take IELTS test to prove their proficiency in English. And your training provider for nurse education has to complete very detailed forms setting out the content of the training you've received. One sticking point for many seems to be you need to have had a minimum of 4600 hours of direct nursing training, with half of that in a classroom or lab setting and 1533 hours in clinical settings. There doesn't seem to be an easy conversion tool for US credit-based record to the one computed by hours. You also need to remember (this is something I know about, as I have a family member in nursing here in UK) that there are fewer entry-level jobs available, and even newly qualified UK nurses are having trouble finding posts. This is to do with cutbacks in NHS. Another complicating factor is since EU/EEA-trained nurses can have their qualification recognised without assessment and language test, and since they can work without a work visa or permit, most employers don't sponsor non-EU nurses for visa, except for specialist and senior posts of which there is still a shortage. So the best course of action seems to be (but you must take professional advice on this) that you should get at least a few years' post-registration experience in US, perhaps taking further qualifications, before venturing to look for opportunities in UK.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

windofmysoul said:


> Hello, and thank you once again for all your time and wisdoms!! In my excitement to post, I forgot to talk about the fact that I am American born, but through my mother I have Swiss Citizenship, with a Swiss passport, which I believe gives me EU privilages. While I think this will help me bypass the Visa part, I don't know if that will have any affect on my Associate's Degree qualifications?? Also, I have been working for 5 years as an RN already, would that somehow hlep with the amount of classroom/clinical hours needed?? Thank you Joppa, you've helped me in the past!!! Sincerely, Franzi


Hi, Swiss passport would help as you don't need a visa to work in UK, but it will have a minimum effect on your registration (if you had a Swiss qualification, that would be different). I think NMC regulations specify that the required hours have to be spent in school during your training, not counting any nursing experience gained outside of the formal setting of your course, and they have to be physically on school premises, not on-line discussions or informal group work with fellow students - so do have a word with someone at your school about it.


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## isipingo (Sep 24, 2010)

windofmysoul said:


> Hello,
> I am trying to take all the right steps to see if my current Associate's Degree in Nursing will be accepted by the NMC and have just sent my information to NARIC and am awaiting their reply; I know it will be a few weeks before I hear from them. It is so hard for me to wait, though, as so much depends on if I can move this summer or go back to school for my bachelor's degree.
> Anyone with any advice? Thank you for your time!! Kindest Regards~Franzi


For what it's worth, I'm a dual British-American citizen and qualified as an RN in Britain. I've actually given up on trying to get a US nursing license because I can't even contact the Commission for Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, whose sole function seems to be to take people's money.


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