Working as a nurse in the UK can provide you with a wonderful opportunity to experience a thriving country, whilst benefitting from a good wage and access to training and development opportunities.
However, before you secure a nursing position in the UK, you’ll need to fulfil certain criteria so that you are entirely eligible to work.
As a general rule, this is the procedure that all overseas applicants should follow!
Registering with the NMC
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the body that is responsible for registering ALL nurses within the UK – if you aren’t registered with them it will not be possible to work within the UK.
You can find out more information about joining the register by visiting their site www.nmc.org.uk/registration/joining-the-register/
You will need to provide them with documents, including relevant identification documents and details of your qualifications. You’ll also be expected to pay a registration fee.
Once these have been provided your application will be assessed by the NMC – this can be a lengthy process so you’ll need to make sure that you do this in plenty of time before moving to the UK, otherwise you could find yourself waiting longer than you thought to begin work.
Overseas applicants may be required to undertake a period of supervised practice as a requirement of the NMC; however this isn’t always the case. If you are required to gain a placement for supervised practice it is advisable to contact hospitals or nursing homes directly to see if they will provide this for you.
If you are accepted straight onto the register you can start looking for work straight away – there are a number of employment agencies within the UK that specialise in finding jobs within the nursing sector so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitable position.
Top Tip: Always make sure you use a reputable agency i.e. one that doesn’t charge you a fee to register with them. Agencies will receive their commission from the hospital or employer once a position has been placed so you should never have to pay anything up front.
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