Kaitlyn

Hi.

I am interested in moving to France but have found it really difficult finding information on the internet (there's loads for moving to the US and Australia).

I am due to qualify as an adult nurse in March 09 and wondered whether anyone could give me any information.

Thank you.

G-J-B

Hi Kaitlyn,

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure Val50 the Moderator here will drop by with a comment or two - if my memory serves me correctly she is or was working as a nurse.

Please take this with a pinch of salt, but I'm fairly sure if you wanted to be a nurse in France, you would have to take new exams under the French scheme to be qualified.

There's a great list of resources in the sticky thread found here:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570597

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the forum, Wait for Val to jump in as she is a RGN and should know about the portability of nursing qualifications. Is it a British Qualification as you don't say were you are now. First thing you need to do is establish were in France you want to live. Two big options City/Town or Countryside. both have their merits and drawbacks it's always a personal choice issue. The other issue that might drive your choice of location is when and if you move here will it be on a Rent/Mortgage free approach or will you still be tied to the dam bank man. The more income you require the more urban driven your lifestyle will be, life in the country can be a lot harder. Pose the questions and we will do our best based on experience to answer them. But only you can chose were to live, as we have all chosen our zone to our requirements and we are spread across the whole of the country. Times are just as hard here but the French approach to life makes it easier to deal with. We have now moved into the Expat Repatriation Phase of the Grand Exodus because the week pound is crippling those that have stronger ties to the UK. If you are in a position to completely severe Financial ties with the UK that will help you no end.

Kaitlyn

Thanks for your replies.

Sorry, I'm currently living in the UK. It's a BN (Hons) I'm studying for.

I enjoy living in the countryside, as where I live now is fairly rural. I would like to live in or just outside of a hamlet, village or small town, within about 30 mins of a decent sized town, and within about 2-2 1/2 hours drive of a city. Obviously, I would need to be within a commutable distance of a hospital (either about 20 mins walk or 20 mins drive).

Initially, I would like to rent somewhere (until I felt sure that I liked the place I lived). I'm only young (22) so don't have money to buy at the moment. I have no one else to consider but myself-I have no children and no partner.

val50

Hi Kaitlyn,
welcome to the forum
This will probably give you the information you are looking for
http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=175
You don't mention what level French you speak. For me, this was the biggest hurdle when we moved to France.
You also wont have experience if you are newly qualified. Friends of my daughter, who are French and newly qualified as nurses here, are battling to find jobs, due to lack of experience - same as in UK.
Have you looked at some of the nursing forums too?
allnurses.com might be worth looking at, although if you use Google, you will find quite a few more out there
Good luck
Val

just found this link jazzy added a while back too
http://www.ciep.fr/en/enic-naricfr/prof_n.php

Collioure_Bee

Welcome to the forum Kaitlin.

I agree with you about it being a good idea to rent before taking the plunge, I rent myself, but only cause I can't afford to buy
Just be warned, they have some very strict rules regarding renting out here so when it gets nearer the time it is worth looking into them.
Good luck.

Ka Ora!

Nursing jobs going in our local Hospital in St Girons it the towns biggest employer. The biggest problem they have is taking on on the job trainees that get themselves qualified then shift to Toulouse were it's a lot harder to get into the University Hospital. Kind of funny because it Nurses and Doctors that I have had the most interactive contact with here. And thus when speaking French it's at it's strongest with me if im discussing aspects of my body, No bloody good for making friends out and about though

treskillard

Hmm. Try: "Would you like to help me insert this tube?"

Ka Ora!

What do you mean insert im trying to get this one taken out of my head bloody nightmare when it freezes up, Anti Freeze and one head don't go together.

treskillard

Please nurse, it would give me so much relief if you could pull on this?

val50

been there - done that
let's try to keep at least one serious topic on thread shall we

Le Chant

I love it when she gets all matronly!

Hi Kaitlin, you don't say whether you speak French to any degree either? If you do, then that'll stand you in good stead in the hunt for work. If not, you'd be well advised to start learning!

Bonne chance!

treskillard

Ka Ora did warn me. It's the Christmas cheer kicking in.

On thread. If you are a qualified adult nurse then I would think that there is quite alot of potential work that you might identify. I don't know about the legal end of it of course so my comments may have no value in which case excuse me. I spent a year in France recently and on a couple of occasions I made visits to a rehibilitation centre where the patients, after leaving hospital, were doing physio or recuperating in other ways. I was visiting elderly villagers there and on both occasions there were elderly British people there. The staff had great difficulty communicating with them and at one point I intervened as an very old lady was calling "Pee Pee" and the staff couldn't work out what she wanted. Anyhow, the thought came to my mind that there was a need for a hospital visitor system for cases like these. Might be that there is a call for specialized nurses too? Just a thought. Welcome to the forum and as you can see Val is the boss.

val50

Welcome to the forum and as you can see Val is the boss.[/quote]


shouildn't that read:

Val is THE Boss

Kaitlyn

Thank you for all your help everyone. I studied French in school and college, but other than a few trips to France and one French man in a & e when on placement, I haven't really spoken French since leaving college. I know that I need to improve my French before doing anything.