Over the last quarter of the year 2018, one of my closest friends asked me if I was interested in returning to nursing practice and migrating to the United Kingdom. Honestly, I had never given it a thought and I was a bit unsure how to answer. By that time, I had a good paying job and the thought of being a nurse again was kind of scary to me.
I took quite some time to think about it and finally decided to give it a try and start processing all the requirements after the holidays. The factors I considered in giving it a green light were: (1) I didn’t want to stay in a work where I sit in front of a computer most of my life, not there is something undesirable about that, I just did not see myself doing that. (2) The prospect of moving into a more progressive country, with a greater economic status and higher compensation. (3) My age – not too young, not too old, so I recon that it was about time to explore new things and try to look for something I can do long-term. (4) The life and work balance, the job will only require me to work 3 to 4 days a week, with 7 weeks of vacation leave. (5) It is in Europe – travel goals + Harry Potter! Haha
So below I will try to write about my journey in becoming a nurse in the United Kingdom:
January 2019: Preparation for IELTS
IELTS is one of the English examinations that you can take to be qualified to work in the UK. You have to have an overall band score of 7, with a minimum score of 7 in listening, reading, and speaking and a minimum score of 6.5 in writing.
February 01, 2019: Date of IELTS test
The test was difficult! I was not expecting to pass it, especially the reading part. Who would be interested reading about fossils? Not me! Reading those selections made me sleepy. Not to mention the nerves you have to overcome in Speaking Test. Haha!
February 15, 2019: Result of my IELTS test
I was just randomly checking the website while at work. To my surprise, I have obtained all the scores I needed. By that time, I realised that my application was really a go so I decided not to rush things and went for a few vacations.
March 2019: Time for vacation
At this point, only few people knew that I was trying to apply for a job overseas. So, when my friends asked me If I was down on going to Siargao, Philippines on the first week of March, I said yes. That turned out to be one of my favourite trips. I also went to South Korea on the third week of this month.
April 2019: Preparation for the computer-based test (CBT)
The UK NMC CBT is a multiple-choice online exam for overseas nurses to get the nursing registration in the UK. Nurses can attend the CBT at a Pearson VUE test centre available in most of the countries around the world. The CBT comprises 120 multiple-choice questions with time limit of 4 hours to answer it.
April 29, 2019: Date of CBT and releasing of the results
I took the examination in Makati and finished it way before the time limit. All the questions were nursing related, particularly patient’s safety, legalities of practice, and drug computations. I received the results just few hours after the test via email from the NMC.
May 2019: Processing and uploading of documents and requirements
This includes my BSN diploma, TOR and RLE hours, birth certificate, NBI clearance, nursing certificate of registration, FATT form, RAV form, passport, and certificate of employment. During this time, I also had my Tuberculosis screening at IOM Makati.
June 2019: Visa application, medical test, seminars
My employer registered me for my visa application on the first week of June. My appointment was on the 12th of June and received it by post on 21st. During this time, I also had my medical test that includes, blood test with HIV check, faecalysis, urinalysis, chest x-ray, drug test, dental check, and eye examination. I attended PDOS and other required seminars as well.
July 11 2019: My flight to UK
Right after I sent my visa, my employer immediately booked my flight on the 11th of July. It was a direct flight with almost 16 hours of flight. Before that, I had to squeeze in some time to meet my friends and have some despdida parties.
To be honest, I did not expect the process to be that fast. Now here I am, after more than a year, a fully registered nurse here in the UK. I am currently working in a Trauma and Orthopaedic Ward.
If you have a question about this – don’t hesitate to get in touch. I am more than happy to help you to start your journey to UK as well.
Disclaimer: There has been an update with the NMC process – above details may be different.
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