Important Things Overseas Nurses and Midwives must know about job opportunities in the UK

Aug 18, 2019
Paul Johnson

 

For Nurses and Midwives who trained overseas, applying for job opportunities in the UK might prove an arduous task. But with the right knowledge and information, you’d be able to navigate your way through the available opportunities and applying would prove pretty much straightforward.

In this article, I will be highlighting essential things nurses and midwives must know about job opportunities in the UK.

On a first note, in exploring job opportunities in the UK, you must meet the demands of the UK immigration policies as carried out by the UK visas and Immigration. This is very pivotal to your application process. The process of migrating from country to country is a very detailed one. Before even searching out opportunities, make inquiries on the necessary steps and documentation involved in migration.

On a second note, you’d hardly find a profession without a regulatory body, and Nursing is one of such professions with very high standards. The nurses and midwives in the UK, European Union (EU) and other European Economic Areas (EEA) are governed by a regulatory body referred to as Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The NMC lays the codes of conduct, ethics, and rules of the profession to be adhered strictly by every registered professional.

It is a prerequisite to be registered with them first for job application eligibility sakes.

A successful scaling through the NMC registration will involve the following:

  • A fundamental requirement for the applicants to have attended at least a 3-year, full-time nursing or midwifery training.
  • Aspiring applicants must have completed at least 10 years of academic qualification either a degree or a diploma before earning training certifications in the nursing or midwifery field.
  • English Language Communication Skills. A level of proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking the English Language is required. This also requires sitting for exams to be conducted by the International English Language Test System (IELTS).

You must also note that in sitting for the communication tests, there is a required score to prove your proficiency. A minimum score of 7 is needed in reading, listening, and speaking; with averagely 6.5 in writing.

Applicants can sit for two IELTS tests where the scores of the two tests must be above 6.5. Also, when the results of the two tests are added together, they must result in 7 or more in all the four categories (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).

However, the two tests must be taken within 6 months.

  • An online self-assessment exercise with a focus on your health awareness and character
  • A Computer-based multiple-choice examination (CBT) to test the theoretical application of the training you have undergone. There are lots of test centres around the world where the CBT can be taken.
  • You will also be required to upload copies of formal documents. Such as your birth certificate, valid passport, certificates of qualifications you’ll be including in your application, and many more formalities.
  • A practical objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) basically to test your clinical expertise and experience as applicable to your work environment.

Upon being registered with the NMC, you will also be required to renew your registration yearly.

The NMC is not responsible for giving out jobs. However, registering with them will earn you deserving job opportunities because you would have gone through their requirements.

For additional information, you can check out the NMC website.