Gypsy Nurse Article: Sophie Blake

I’ve been living the life of an international nurse in the UK for almost four months now, and I still can’t believe this is my life. If you have ever dreamed of living abroad, but didn’t know how you could do it, I’m here to tell you it is possible. I will preface this article by saying it was no quick or easy feat getting here.

If you’re looking for an easy way to work abroad as a nurse, this way is tedious and will take time. My journey here took about 2.5 years, but that was partly due to my own timeline. That being said, if you are looking to come to the UK to work in the next year, that is definitely doable. 

Becoming an International Nurse in The UK

This article will give you a highlight of where to start and what you can expect as you go through this process. To begin, if you are serious about doing this, I would recommend logging onto the NMC (Nurse and Midwifery Council) website right now and starting an application. It doesn’t hurt to get that going, and it can take time to have that accepted by the NMC. The NMC is basically the UK Board of Nursing for reference.

Everything you do for your UK nursing license will be through them. And yes, you have to get approved for licensure there. If you’ve done any travel nursing, you might already have a lot of the documents they will want on hand! So you’re already a step ahead. 

So you’ve started your application with the NMC, and they’ve approved you to start getting licensed to be a nurse in the UK! 

Congratulations! (Note: There is a fee at this point, either before or after you are approved. It is £120 at the time of my application, but this can always change. I also had to pay another £140 for a qualification evaluation fee later on.) After this initial step, you will have a list with empty checkmarks on your NMC application page.

Start getting those things ticked off, and you are well on your way. Things to keep in mind: You will have to choose which nursing pathway you want to take. The UK decides if they will do adult, children, mental health, or learning disabilities when they are at university, so you have to choose one when you apply and take your exams. 

Exams you need to take to be a licensed nurse in the UK.

There are two exams that all international nurses are required to take to be licensed. . One is called the CBT (Computer Based Test) which the NMC will give you the go ahead to sign up for and take at any Pearson testing site. Wait until they email you about this before you book it. It costs around £80. When studying for this exam, I spent two weeks going through the resources the NMC has on its website. There are things to know that you will be questioned on that we do not have in the US, so make sure to take some time to look through things.

This exam is 15 questions on medication math and 100 questions on general knowledge. This is NOTHING like the NCLEX. This exam is nowhere near as intense and does not have as much critical thinking involved. However, I do remember having a few questions about things I’d never heard of, so again, make sure to go through the resources on the NMC website specifically for the CBT. If you do have to resit, you only have to retake and pay for the part that you didn’t pass (math or knowledge).

For the second exam

I would recommend waiting until you are already coming to the UK because you have to take it at one of their in-person testing sites. The OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) is basically a simulation like you did in nursing school. You are given a scenario based on which pathway you have chosen to be licensed in. You will have either an actor as a patient or a dummy with an actor as a parent. This exam was very nerve-wracking and only has a 40% pass rate the first time, though, so not to scare anyone away, but this one will take a lot more studying and preparation.

The NMC has all the resources you need on their website to study for this exam as well, however, I would highly recommend taking a study course if you can. I was fortunate enough to have my job provide a two-week course before taking it, which was so helpful! The OSCE costs £794. A VERY pretty pence, but my job covered this cost and scheduled the exam for me. If you have to resit, like with the CBT, you only resit the parts that you didn’t pass. The OSCE has ten stations, so if you pass all but, say, two, you just retake those stations. The resit costs £397.

Once you pass your OSCE, you should be set to go. There are a lot of stipulations with paperwork that I’d like to share with you as well, but it will have to wait until my next article! I hope this helps give you a general idea of what to expect when applying for your UK nursing license and allows you to start the process if it’s something you’re serious about. Until next time, xx Sophie.

Be sure to connect with me on Instagram @thetravelingsopha and keep an eye on my website, where I share differences in nursing in the UK vs the US and all the traveling I have been doing while living in the UK! With Europe so close, it’s a great reason to come live abroad for a couple of years!

We hope you found this article on becoming an international nurse in the UK helpful or enjoyable to read. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Always wanted to be a nurse in the UK, but don’t know how? Be on the lookout for more nurse in the UK articles from Sophie in the future!

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