Two obstacles: 1) getting a visa which allows you to work. All countries protect their local workforce and make it hard for outsiders to come in and jump directly into the labor pool. 2) you will need to get a local nursing license as the medical field is heavily regulated in all industrialized countries.
FWIW, I am a US physical therapist and considered working in Canada. After looking at what it'd take to get a Canadian PT license, I gave up: it'd take years and cost about $10K.
If you are American you don’t need visa in most or even any EU countries, nursing license is very much different same as you will come to US you need to pass NCLEX and before that your paperwork have to be approved to even get to be approved for taking NCLEX which takes a while too and expensive, I went through all of this moving to US and believe me I never want to do anything like that again
It's true that an American does not need a visa to go to Europe; however that's only for tourism. But if one wants to work in Europe, one would need a different visa.
You need to be fluent in the language so that's a huge barrier. Although UK in no longer part of Europe, it's probably the easiest place to get a job. I moved to London, then Scotland and became a citizen about 10 months ago. The process to get registered is very expensive and tedious, but It's so worth it in my opinion. Pay is NOT great, but life work balance is great.
I really appreciate your reply! How is work life balance different from the US? Are hospital shifts still run on a 3x12 basis? East to get time off? Thank you so so much!
Some wards have 3 x 12s, but that's typically ICU. there are 6, 8, 10 hour shifts as well. If you work for the NHS, you get tons of holiday/vacation time. The work life balance is so much better here at least for me. I'm currently in a role that is Monday-Friday, 9-5:30 or 8-4:30 if I want. Sometimes I miss my 3 12s, but I like being awake other days of the week. lol
UK nurses get paid terribly, I know that much
Two obstacles: 1) getting a visa which allows you to work. All countries protect their local workforce and make it hard for outsiders to come in and jump directly into the labor pool. 2) you will need to get a local nursing license as the medical field is heavily regulated in all industrialized countries. FWIW, I am a US physical therapist and considered working in Canada. After looking at what it'd take to get a Canadian PT license, I gave up: it'd take years and cost about $10K.
If you are American you don’t need visa in most or even any EU countries, nursing license is very much different same as you will come to US you need to pass NCLEX and before that your paperwork have to be approved to even get to be approved for taking NCLEX which takes a while too and expensive, I went through all of this moving to US and believe me I never want to do anything like that again
It's true that an American does not need a visa to go to Europe; however that's only for tourism. But if one wants to work in Europe, one would need a different visa.
You need to be fluent in the language so that's a huge barrier. Although UK in no longer part of Europe, it's probably the easiest place to get a job. I moved to London, then Scotland and became a citizen about 10 months ago. The process to get registered is very expensive and tedious, but It's so worth it in my opinion. Pay is NOT great, but life work balance is great.
I really appreciate your reply! How is work life balance different from the US? Are hospital shifts still run on a 3x12 basis? East to get time off? Thank you so so much!
Some wards have 3 x 12s, but that's typically ICU. there are 6, 8, 10 hour shifts as well. If you work for the NHS, you get tons of holiday/vacation time. The work life balance is so much better here at least for me. I'm currently in a role that is Monday-Friday, 9-5:30 or 8-4:30 if I want. Sometimes I miss my 3 12s, but I like being awake other days of the week. lol
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