The National Health Service is regularly regarded as the best health care system in the world, and with this in mind, if you’re a nurse working internationally, you might have always dreamed of working on for the NHS. Of course, it would be fair of you to think that fining employment on the NHS would be an impossible feat, but in reality, it’s not as difficult as you might think. So, if you’re prepared to do some research and put a lot of hard work in around your current employment shifts, you could find yourself working for the world’s best health care system. Here’s how.
Complying with the NMC
The first thing you need to do before you even so much as start to look for employment is to ensure you are complying with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. When you register with the NMC, you’ll essentially have your nursing qualifications checked against the UK’s standards, allowing the council to gage whether you are in need of any additional training before you can progress onto the NHS.
It is important to note that simply qualifying with the NMC does not automatically mean that you are eligible for work in the UK, so you will need to wait to be assessed, and follow the guidance and advice of the council before you are free to join the NHS.
The Overseas Nurses Programme
The only – and therefore the best – way to register with the NMC if you’re from outside the UK and European Economic Area is through the Overseas Nurses Programme. In autumn of this year (2014), the guidelines to how you can apply to be a nurse on the NHS are about to change, so if you’re happy with the guidelines as they are, it’s probably best to apply soon.
Finally, if you’re not a native speaker of English, you’ll need to have an IELTS score of 7.0 or above.
Applying for Work
Finally, once you’ve met all the requirements and completed all of the training, you can start to begin thinking about finding work. The best thing about the NHS is that the range of nursing jobs on offer all around the UK is vast, so you’ll never have trouble looking for a job. With sites like Nursing Personnel collecting all of the jobs into one central place so that all you have to do is simply browse through and find the perfect work for you.
So there you have it – how to find work on the NHS if you’re an overseas nurse.