A step by step approach

1./Accreditation

The Employer in the current marketplace will generally require that before interview a candidate has passed the CBT, IELTS/OET as required by the UK NMC, and that the candidate has received an ‘NMC Decision Letter
confirming acceptance to proceed to OSCE. In view of the current quarantine situation in relation to Covid-19 hotel quarantine applies to nurses travelling from ‘red list’ countries, and home quarantine to others.

2/ CBT (Computer Based Testing)

The Computer Based Test aims to test nurse clinical competency as a nurse. The testing is in a multiple-choice format, covering 120 questions over a four-hour period. Testing is available in many locations outside the UK. The objective is to test overall general competency for the nursing register applied for, either general nursing, children’s, learning disability, mental health or midwifery. It is recommended that preparation for the examination is completed.

3/ NMC Registration

Registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council(NMC) can be commenced after the IELTS and CBT stages have been completed. The first part will be to gather all documentation for submission in relation to your nursing education, experience and background. You will also need to demonstrate ‘good standing’ I relation to all the nursing regulatory bodies where you have worked formally. Your education will be assessed in terms of the course content and clinical hours, based upon transcript. Official translation of documentation may also be required.

4/ Visa Application

The visa application is processed in conjunction with the Employer. They will need to obtain a COS (certificate of sponsorship) in relation to each nurse. Nurses now however are both an ‘eligible’ and ‘shortage occupation’ for visa purposes. from 2021 the new Social Care visa format has been in place, which also recognises ‘Senior Carers’ as a shortage occupation. Visa issuance confers ‘entry clearance’ rights, and a biometric residence permit (BRP) will typically be issued shortly after arrival. this is an important document and should be kept with you at all times, but especially where you wish to travel outside and subsequently return to the UK jurisdiction.

5/ Travel

Once the visa is issued the candidate may travel within the ascribed ‘travel window’. Candidates will work in a nurse assistant role typically until successful in the OSCE examination, and the issuance of an NMC PIN registration, and your employers satisfaction that you are able to deliver safe nursing unsupervised. During this time, considerable resource should be applied to learning for the OSCE examination, together with the mandatory training required by the employer to nurse in the UK. This will often cover areas such as manual handling, hazardous materials, protection of vulnerable adults, Personal Protection Equipment and Covid-19, together with other, and more specialised training.

6./ OSCE

OSCE is the Objective Structured Clinical examination. It differs from the CBT which is more a theory based examination, in that it is practically based and simulates patient interaction in a variety of workstation settings. Currently the examination is administered at the Universities of Northampton, Oxford Brookes, and the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Preparation in depth is very important and should be coordinated with the Employer, the pass rate experience has been around 80%+. We often co-ordinate with employers to provide training resources in either an online or physical format. This examination can be re-sit and re-sits will cover only the modules that have been failed initially. A pass however is required within 8 months of entry to conform with home office rules.