How to become a nurse in England

A how to guide

The first thing I did was a hopeful Google search “international nursing agency” and the first result was Continental Nurse Agency

So I emailed and called… and after a while, they got back to me and I decided to use their assistance. Continental Nurse Agency is based out of London and they help me obtain my nursing license aka nursing pin and a job. Majority of their placements are in the heart of London but they do work with a handful of hospitals outside of London. Including Winchester which is where I work and live. I started the process in 2018 therefore I apologize in advance if you run into different information. The information below is my story with the guidance of Continental Nurse.

A couple of facts

First, the total cost for me including r/t to England to take the OSCE was about $6500 ( $2500 was the trip cost to England for the OSCE).

Second, again for me it took twoish years, including delays due to COVID. My first contact contact Continental Nurse Agency was April 2018 and I was on the hospital floor working in November 2020. I have heard of other nurses getting it all done in less than six months, therefore it depends on your personal time line.

Continental Nurse Agency

First, why did I use Continental Nurse Agency versus go it alone? I was working full time, volunteering, and a mom. Hence life was busy. I wanted and needed direction with reminders on each step along the way. And above all I needed the security of working with an agency since it was going to effect not just me but my family. Working with an agency provided that security. You can read about our move here.

How did choose Continental Nurse Agency? It was the first agency that popped up on my Google search. Continental Nurse Agency is great resource and will guide you along the way. You will have to be patient with them, truth be told, at times they are not quick to response to emails or phone calls. But after living in England for a year I think it is more of a American versus British way of doing business. The American urgency is lacking and you will have to get use to it. In addition you cannot be passive, if you have concerns along the way you must voice them. Whether it be regarding housing or in my case getting your job lined up with the hospital.

Yes, Continental Nurse Agency may be hard to get a hold of but in the end I am sitting in England overlooking my garden and working in the local A&E. I could not have done it with them, Continental Nurse Agency were essential in helping me submit my Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) application and get my job. Bonus, I did get reimbursed for my application fees which was a great surprise.

A fellow blogger wrote a piece about Four Nursing Agencies that Help American Find Overseas RN Jobs

The 4 steps, in my head, to get your license

1. Get verification from Nurse Midwifery Council- verifies you are a nurse

2. Take the Computer Based Test CBT aka Test of Competence at a Pearson Testing Center

3. Submit the actual application, a BIG document which you mail in. Includes having to contact all the states you have worked, change university credits/ units to clinical and lecture hours, background check, work reference, and health clearance from your doctor

4. OSCE objective structured clinical examination

The actual steps per the Nursing Midwifery Council NMC

1. Get verification from Nurse Midwifery Council- verifies you are a nurse

Where you start…https://www.nmc.org.uk/registration/joining-the-register/register-nurse-midwife/trained-outside-the-eueea/new-application/

A couple of questions that I had to think about…so for clarification I “translated them” when they ask

Have you ever been registered? it translates, have you ever had a nursing license…

And will you have appropriate indemnity cover in place for your practise? Yes you will, that is nursing insurance

1a. Do the checklist to make sure you have all your documents. And then start the application process.

Health clearance is a check box you click stating you are in good health. If you have medical condition that might effect your practice you will need to submit a statement from a doctor that you are able to safely practice.

1b. Let your state nursing board know you are applying for an international license. Or you school if you have not started practicing as a nurse. Either one tell them to keep an eye out for a nurse verification request from the NMC.

WAIT

Depending if you are getting verification from California or Washington State, it can be a month or two. I can not recall when I applied but got verification in August and took the CBT in December

If you become eligible for the CBT from 16 July 2021, you will no longer receive an ‘Authorization to Test’ (ATT) email from Pearson VUE. Instead, you will receive an email prompting you to log into your Pearson VUE and book your CBT

2. Take the CBT Computer Based Test at a Pearson Testing Center

The NMC launched a new version of CBT for nurses and midwives on 2 August 2021

The new CBT is split into two parts. Part A will cover numeracy and Part B will cover clinical questions for nursing or midwifery.

This is a multiple-choice examination which is accessible in many countries around the world for applicants to access in their home countries.

Just schedule it, it is NOT the NCLEX do not stress BUT you will need to learn about NMC way of nursing

YOU PASSED!!! Now what??

3. The actual application

Prepare your documents/evidence and a how to guide from the NMC

Below is a “how to” for the online forms/ application, based on my experience and with the help of Continental Nursing

If the forms / online application form are not completed correctly the NMC will require them to be redone. Resulting in an application delayed of at least 3 months.

Please DON’T photocopy or scan any of the forms. The NMC does not accept photocopies and you will need to do them again. The barcode on the bottom of the form is require to be the original. You can download the forms and e-mail them to your University, Doctor etc. But as soon as they press print, that it is the piece of paper that needs to be sent to the NMC. Forms can be printed several times.

Please note that only once the NMC has received ALL your application, the online forms, uploaded documents, as well as the printed pages that will be mail in, will they refer your file to a decision officer for assessment.

You will notice on your NMC application under Full Application & Assessment section, there are 7 tabs on the left hand side. We have detailed below the sections to look out for on each tab:

1.Proof of identification

• Upload a copy of your passport. If you have more than one nationality, please upload all the passports who have
• Upload a copy of your birth certificate
• Upload a copy of your marriage certificate / divorce certificate / name change certificate if applicable
• Please also upload a recent copy of your CV / resume. You will need to click “Yes” where it says “Would you like to add more identification evidence”.
  • Your CV / resume cannot have any gaps – so if you went traveling for 3 months it needs to be written on the CV

2.English Language Skills

• Please select which route you are proving your English Proficiency:
  • Trained in English in the last 2 years
  • Practiced nursing in an English speaking country for a year or more
  • Passed the IELTS (level 7) or OET (level B)

3.Professional Education aka qualification evidence

Number of years education – this is the number of years spent in primary and secondary schooling. In other words all education prior to going to university (most nurses have between 11 and 13 years)

Upload a copy of your Nursing degree. This is the certificate they gave you at the graduation ceremony. If you have any degrees whereby credits were transferred from that degree to your nursing degree, please include copies of those qualifications aka degrees (eg Biology degree, Paramedics degree)

If you have more than one qualification, please click “yes” under the “would you like to add more qualifications” section

You may need to download the Form to Accompany the Transcripts of Training. You will need a form for every qualification you have. If you have more than one qualification you need to use the corresponding form with the qualification. In other words you have to use “Transcripts Form 1” with “Qualification 1” and “Transcripts Form 2” with “Qualification 2”. The university needs to be complete the forms.

The three things that need to be completed by the university:

A. A letter with the breakdown of your courses into clinical and theory hours from college credits (this including prerequisites)

B. The NMC Form to Accompany the Transcript of Training, completed and stamped by the university. Again your courses need to be converted into clinical and theory hours from college credits , make sure they match your letter.

C. Official transcripts in credits

Below is a template that can be present to the university.

I also included my copy from San Francisco State University School of Nursing below, you might need to view it on a computer versus your mobile device. I know you now need to log into an actual computer…

A. Letter with the breakdown of your courses into clinical and theory hours (on letterhead) must include the following:

Name, date of birth and candidate number

Dates that you studied at the university

A list of all THEORY  courses in HOURS per semester

Theory hours include all lectures

A list of all CLINICAL experience in HOURS per semester

These hours include placements, labs and any practicals done on campus.

Please ensure that the letter includes hours in the following sections:

Medicine

Surgery

Paediatrics

Maternity

Mental Health

Geriatrics

Community

If these sections are combined, please indicate as such on the transcripts as well as the form.

Please make sure that the amount of hours entered on the form is equivalent to the amount of hours on the letter

Clinical Instruction breakdown –ADULT NURSING section only.

The form needs to be stamped and signed.

B. NMC Forms: sections that need to completed by the university: Section1, 2, 3, 4, 5a (Adult), 6 and 7. If you are proving your English language proficiency via your training the university needs to complete section 8.

C. College Transcripts– do not need to be sealed

I gathered all these documents from both my community college and the university I attended and sent them in myself instead of having them do it.

4.Post qualification registration

• Upload all registration (license) certificates from all states / countries you have worked in as a nurse – including your very first certificate and your most recent one.
  • If your state is more technologically advance and everything is done online, you will need to write a letter.
    • The letter should include the website and any details the NMC may need in order to verify your details online.
    • Then, you will need to print out an online confirmation of your license.
    • Finally, you will upload the letter of explanation and the online print out instead of a registration certificate to create one document example below

Download the verification form and send it to every nursing board you have ever worked under.

• Contact the Board of Nursing directly prior to sending the form as many have an administration charge. Send a letter requesting the form to the correct department.
• In some cases, the Board of Nursing will not complete the NMC form but will supply the NMC with their own completed form. If this is the case, ask them to send their own version PLUS the blank version of the Verification form to the NMC.
• P.S. California is one of the most expensive and takes the longest, if you work in CA start this process right away

Example

FBI Background Check

• There are many ways to climb a tree, I went straight to the source https://www.edo.cjis.gov/#/ and the least expensive option
• I got my local police department to do the finger prints since my state did not have a scan fingerprint option, I got three copies which I later needed for my visa application.
• Another options is going through FBI has a list of “Channelers” to get the background check.
• Do not mail in your FBI check, you need to upload a copy of the certificate. You will present the original to the NMC after you complete to OSCE.

5.Work experience and good character reference

Work reference and complete part 4 a & be if you are proving your English proficiency via work experience

6.Good character and good health

• Answer yes or no questions under the Good Character section
• Download the NMC good health form
  • To be completed by your doctor (MD/DO), cannot be completed by a nurse or a nurse practitioner. The form is fairly straight forward, just make sure that it is stamped. If the MD doesn’t have a stamp ask them to write a letter explaining as such printed on office letterhead.
  • The MD also needs to indicate they have seen you in the last 6 months

4. OSCE objective structured clinical examination

Still working on this ever changing section due to COVID. But I have set forth some things to get you started. Hope to have more information posted in the next couple of weeks.

A post from Rachel Cutshall from AnyWayWard about Changes to UK registration for overseas nurses in 2021 including recent changes to the OSCE

I recommend going to crash study course, it is too expensive to take a chance

Search on YouTube OSCE NMC watch all the videos from NHS Health Education England

For Example

In Closing…

This page is still a work in progress and if you have any suggestions or edit please shoot me a message at thenurseseye@gmail.com

Please also let me know if you come across a great study aid or resource, we are all just trying to help each other.