I remember asking myself what I was doing as a nurse. It was never my dream in the first place. It was my mother’s. Mother dear decided to love her best life career through me. I didn’t see it coming until I had my qualifications. I joked with roommate in college that I would take my license to my parents then go to uni to study what I had always wanted to study; mass communication and paralegal studies.

 My roommate was to take her nursing license to her parents as well and go for Journalism. She was that specific. I still do not know what I meant by mass communication and paralegal studies. That is a conundrum.

 It therefore sweetly surprises me that I fell for my mother’s profession and I’m neck deep in a mission to make it better for me and those that look up to me as their mentors. I have flirted with this profession for a while now in the UK and I’ve come to some contemporary conclusions which I’ll share with you in a few or many sentences. Ha ha.

 The Overseas Nurse and Great Britain

I frequently get questions as to how much UK pays her nurses. That question comes from a deep need for better remuneration. Coming from Kenya, I know that that alone is a real motivation for a nurse to leave the country for better pastures. In fact, a student nurse lately told me he would qualify and go work anywhere in the world but Kenya.

 It is sad. It is true. I wish we didn’t have to go. But we must because our socioeconomic future hangs in the balance if we do not. United Kingdom follows what is known as Agenda for Pay when paying her nurses. This is an agreement between the government and the unions and associations of nurses on matters pay and pay rise. Knowing this is very important as it avoids unrealistic expectations from your side.

 What I advise nurses from Kenya to do is to negotiate for the recognition of your years of practice by the employer. That means even if you’ll be employed at Band 5 salary, it will be at a higher entry point as opposed to the bottom level. Am I making sense? If not, ask me to clarify in the comments’ section.

 What I want to linger on is the base for advancing your education in the UK. There are many courses you could do as a nurse. For instance, if you have an undergraduate degree in nursing from Kenya, you can go for a Master’s in Global health or health policies and economics. Your childhood dream in economics just got rekindled. A course in Global health positions you to strategically influence health systems in Kenya and other developing countries.

 The other route you may take is an accelerated PhD in those courses or any other. Further, if you hold a registration as a UK RN, you may specialise in aesthetic nursing. I want you to realize that there is nothing like diverting in nursing. You are not’ diverting ‘ when you go for new avenues. You are simply conquering virgin territories.

 Aesthetic nursing gives you power to perform cosmetic procedures like Botox administration, lip fillers, burst enhancements and other such procedures. You may not believe it but there is a real desire for people to enhance their looks in the modern, civilised world.

 Apart from a degree in Nursing, a UK RN registration by itself is enough to qualify you to undertake these short courses. And it is a real money maker if it was money that you were solely after.

 In Kenya, we talk of oncology nursing; in the UK you can be a Chemotherapy nurse. You do not need any background knowledge in oncology nursing. All you need is your UK registration and a placement in the cancer wards. The hospital trains you in administration of chemotherapeutic agents. You can then be on a higher pay scale if you want. You can pursue a masters in clinical research if you have a degree. You can branch into paediatric chemotherapy if you want.

 Organ and blood donation, plasmapharesis and such blood-based specialities is another route you can go for as a nurse with a UK registration. This gives you an opportunity to perform all forms of blood and plasma related activities. Phlebotomy, cannulation and all those needle-based curiosities you had in college will be met here. You do not need to have prior experience as again, the hospital will train you in what you need to know and do.

 Geriatric nursing is a real need in the UK. It is so important that they have wards christened as Medicine of the Elderly. Your desire to deal with the elderly patient will be fulfilled in this area. Please note that there is a difference between medicine of the elderly department and care homes. Care homes are standalone nursing facilities for the elderly and sometimes chronically ill patients. A care home, as enshrined in the Agenda for Change, pays her nurses better at the initial entry stage as compared to NHS hospitals.

 Having an undergraduate degree I’m nursing, you can go back to uni and pursue medicine. Yes I said it. The UK allows you to convert your degree and pursue medicine. One university that has such a program is the University of Edinburgh one of the most renowned universities in the world for medical students. I’m tempted to say it is a few miles from where I live. Ha ha

 Your dream to become a doctor will be realized here. All you need is your undergraduate degree and a UK registration. Come shoot your shot. This is not just for nurses alone. The conversion program gives room even for other allied healthcare professions to convert their degrees into medicine education. All you need to do is to go back to school. The uni will prescribe how many years you’ll need to add in your medicine studies.

 Medical journalism is a career I’ve left for the very end. Not because it is the least but because it is curiously satisfying. Most medical journalists do not have prior hands- on experience with patients. They rely on what they read or their interviews. They do not have the first hand knowledge that nurses possess.

 That explains a lot of seemingly unreal reporting that we are blessed with in our newspapers. Unless they delve into documentaries or exposès, most medical journalists simply report what they are told by the people on the ground. Nurses on the other hand, are able to hold the hand of the audience and take them to every corner of the hospital. Nurses are able to write from an eye witness’ point of view.

 The UK allows a nurse to be a medical journalist and it starts with a simple interest in the career. It begins with a sentence, a paragraph, a YouTube Video and voila, you’re your own channel.

 I would challenge nurses to embrace YouTube videos. Follow people like Nicy Wangui who discusses the UK process for nurses on YouTube. Follow Cynthia Mutisya who discusses nursing matters in Kenya. These are nurses who have seen the open reality of medical journalism and go for it.

 Finally, follow nursing blogs that you fancy. Meshack RN is a nurse blogger in Kenya you want to follow. Nurse Otieno is a nurse blogger you would want to follow as well. Some nurse bloggers do not address nursing matters all the time like yours truly here. My audience is everyone. On occasion, like today, I discuss matters dear to my mother’s profession.

DISCLAIMER: The roles discussed here are not exhaustive