Are you a qualified nurse? Are you looking for a change of direction? Or considering this career and wondering where you could move to? There are so many countries with vacancies in nursing where you can move abroad for a fresh start.
Nurses are needed to work at hospitals, healthcare centres, care homes, summer camps, cruise ships and so many more locations worldwide.
There are thousands of vacancies around the world and being a qualified nurse this is one of the easiest ways to get a visa and live abroad.
Best Countries to Work as a Nurse
Where you go really depends on your personal preference, or where you find a vacancy which appeals to you.
Unless you know any foreign languages, English speaking countries are the best places to find employment. The UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand are all popular destinations.
The NHS in the UK employs over 350,000 nurses and midwives with a huge number being hired from overseas.
Australia is an appealing and popular destination for Brits and European nurses, with the chance to get a high salary, less work demand due to the lower population and also the chance to enjoy the Australian weather and hospitality.
How to Become a Nurse
In almost all countries, students must complete an approved nursing education course and pass a nursing examination in order to obtain a nursing licence.
Some nursing qualifications will be valid in countries other than the one in which the qualification was gained, but in others additional examinations will need to be taken. In any event, most countries will require regular renewal of qualifications and licences, which may involve continuing nursing education and examinations.
In the US, there are three major educational paths to registered nursing:
• A Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nursing (BSN). BSN programs, offered by colleges and universities, take about 4 years to complete.
• An Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). ADN programs, offered by community and junior colleges, take about 2 to 3 years to complete.
• A nursing diploma. Only a small and declining number of programs offer diplomas.
• Generally, licensed graduates of any of the three types of educational programs qualify for entry-level positions as staff nurses.
The Bachelor’s nursing degree allows you to participate in a broader range of nursing, and therefore many ADN- and diploma-educated nurses will go on to undertake bachelor’s nursing degrees. Sometimes, they will begin work as an RN, and take advantage of tuition benefits to further their nursing education by working towards a BSN through one of the many RN to BSN programs.
Accelerated Nursing Degrees
Accelerated BSN programs are available to individuals who have a bachelor’s or higher degree in another field and who are interested in moving into nursing. Accelerated BSN programs last 12 to 18 months and provide the fastest route to a BSN for individuals who already hold a degree. Accelerated master’s degree programs in nursing are also available and take about 3 years to complete.
The Benefits of the BSN Nursing Degree
Budding nurses should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of enrolling in a BSN program, because, if they do, their advancement opportunities in nursing are usually broader. In fact, some nursing career paths are open only to nurses with bachelor’s or advanced degrees. A bachelor’s nursing degree is often necessary for administrative positions and is a prerequisite for admission to graduate nursing programs in research, consulting, teaching, or a clinical specialization.
What a Nursing Degree entails
Nursing education includes classroom instruction and supervised clinical experience in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Students take courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, psychology and other behavioral sciences, and nursing. Course work also includes the liberal arts.
Supervised clinical experience is provided in hospital departments such as pediatrics, psychiatry, maternity, and surgery. A growing number of programs include clinical experience in nursing care facilities, public health departments, home health agencies, and ambulatory clinics.
What it takes to be a Nurse
Nurses should be caring, sympathetic, responsible, and detail oriented. They must be able to direct or supervise others, correctly assess patients’ conditions, and determine when consultation is required. They need emotional stability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stresses.
Experience and good performance can lead to promotion to more responsible positions. In management, nurses can advance to assistant head nurse or head nurse and, from there, to assistant director, director, and vice president. Increasingly, management-level nursing positions require a graduate or an advanced degree in nursing or health services administration. They also require leadership, negotiation skills, and good judgment. Graduate programs preparing executive-level nurses usually last about 2 years.
Careers in Nursing
Within patient care, nurses can move into a nursing specialty such as clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or certified registered nurse anaesthetist. These positions require about 2 years of graduate education leading to a master’s degree.
Some nurses move into the business side of health care. Their nursing expertise and experience on a healthcare team equip them with the ability to manage ambulatory, acute, home health, and chronic care services.
Employers—including hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and managed care organisations, among others—need RNs for health planning and development, marketing, consulting, policy development, and quality assurance.
Other nurses work as college and university teachers, conduct research or find other employment in healthcare.