Registration of non-EU nursing qualifications

1POSTS

7 years ago

Hi everyone,

I am a Registered Nurse from Australia and am looking to see if anyone else has gone through the process of nursing registration from a country outside of the EU?
Do I just need to pass the Dutch Language Proficiency test and then register in the BIG register to be able to work in the Netherlands?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Ness

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Ramses K. Serial expat

358POSTS

7 years ago

There is a high demand for skilled nurses so the rules will be slightly bend. Plus the fact you speak English I see no problem at all.

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5339POSTS

7 years ago

Ramses K. wrote:
There is a high demand for skilled nurses so the rules will be slightly bend. Plus the fact you speak English I see no problem at all.

I am intrigued by your answer: speaking English is not a problem.
How do you see that?
Are you expecting that patients need to speak English to a nurse who isn't able to speak Dutch in the first place?

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8156POSTS

7 years ago

Primadonna wrote:
Ramses K. wrote:
There is a high demand for skilled nurses so the rules will be slightly bend. Plus the fact you speak English I see no problem at all.

I am intrigued by your answer: speaking English is not a problem.
How do you see that?
Are you expecting that patients need to speak English to a nurse who isn't able to speak Dutch in the first place?

Must admit, it has me perplexed - I just asked my wife (Dutch nurse) - she said no way would a non-Dutch speaking nurse be allowed anywhere near a patient in a hospital that she has worked in.

Ramses K. Serial expat

358POSTS

7 years ago

Well the need is that high and yes you must learn Dutch, but you can work.
Right now people are being recruited in Poland, Romenia etc., to work in our healthcare system. Like as we say in the Netherlands "nood breekt wetten".

Look it up if you don't believe me.

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8156POSTS

7 years ago

Your previous post spurred me to do some checking around the agencies. It's a fact that to work in Holland as a registered nurse, Dutch law requires the nurse to be on the BIG-register, to get on the register, comes an absolute requirement to speak Dutch to a varying degree (B1 or B2 depending on the type of nursing). If you can't prove competency to that level, you will not get on the register. My wife told me of a former colleague of hers who worked on her ward in MST, she was a Brit and a UK qualified nurse, but the only work she could get on a medical ward in the Netherlands was as a voedingsassistent, at least until she had passed her Dutch language exams.

There were 2 adverts I found from Dutch agencies advertising for English speaking nurses with either English or Irish citizenship; I thought this was a bit bizarre until after a bit of further reading, I discovered they were looking to fill vacancies in the UK and Irish NHS.

1 member reacted to this post

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5339POSTS

7 years ago

Thank you for digging up Cynic and it proves that you can't not always trust what other members write. Always do your own research!!!

Ramses K. Serial expat

358POSTS

7 years ago

Yes you are right that you must speak Dutch, that's why agencies give people a quick courses in the Dutch language. So if people want to work in the Netherlands they get all the help they need.

Examples:
https://vrijheidindezorg.nl/2018/07/hon … nederland/
http://www.globalcarecapacity.nl/nl/bui … -1530.html
https://www.ad.nl/ad-werkt/zij-halen-ve … ~abe8a33d/

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#10

I've been browsing the pages for days. I want to live in The Netherlands instead of Ireland or England but this incident seemed very difficult to me. Intermediary companies only bring nurses from EU countries and they do not receive nurses outside the EU! My diploma is a EU diploma but I'm not a citizen of the EU. I want to take a Dutch course in my country and do B1 B2 level but what if i can't find a job after learning Dutch! Can I take a Dutch course and find a job individually or by intermediary institutions to support the visa process? I wonder what do you think about this subject

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8156POSTS

5 years ago

#11

Hi again.

They probably take EU citizens because they already have the right to live and work anywhere in the EU. As a Turkish citizen, although you have an EU recognised diploma, that doesn't give you the right to work anywhere except where you currently live (Greece?).

If you can pass the exams, I'm almost certain that unless there is something else you've not disclosed to us (and you don't have to), that you will get a nursing job in the Netherlands. As for doing it the other way around, that is not a good idea as if you are not working as a nurse, you will lose the currency of your nursing diploma and have to re-train.

I've just seen on LinkedIn a Turkish nurse who is currently working in Amsterdam; perhaps reach out to her and ask for her advice; this link will take you straight to her public page.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Ramses K. Serial expat

358POSTS

5 years ago

#12

Hi,

Learning Dutch is the most important thing to do now, once you reach an level where you can conversate easily to your patients. Learning the Dutch way of living is also very important.

Once you have done that finding a job wouldn't be very difficult, there is a high need for qualified nurses.

I know of a big health care facility in Rotterdam that has multiple locations in the whole city owned by a Turkish decent Dutchman. There are living a lot of people in Rotterdam of Turkish decent, maybe you can start there. Just google to find it, maybe that will be a way to find a job in this country.

Good luck!

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#13

Thanks for your help. you're so good

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#14

Ramses K. wrote:
Hi,

Learning Dutch is the most important thing to do now, once you reach an level where you can conversate easily to your patients. Learning the Dutch way of living is also very important.

Once you have done that finding a job wouldn't be very difficult, there is a high need for qualified nurses.

I know of a big health care facility in Rotterdam that has multiple locations in the whole city owned by a Turkish decent Dutchman. There are living a lot of people in Rotterdam of Turkish decent, maybe you can start there. Just google to find it, maybe that will be a way to find a job in this country.

Good luck!

Do you remember the name of the company in Rotterdam?

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#15

Cynic wrote:
Hi again.

They probably take EU citizens because they already have the right to live and work anywhere in the EU. As a Turkish citizen, although you have an EU recognised diploma, that doesn't give you the right to work anywhere except where you currently live (Greece?).

If you can pass the exams, I'm almost certain that unless there is something else you've not disclosed to us (and you don't have to), that you will get a nursing job in the Netherlands. As for doing it the other way around, that is not a good idea as if you are not working as a nurse, you will lose the currency of your nursing diploma and have to re-train.

I've just seen on LinkedIn a Turkish nurse who is currently working in Amsterdam; perhaps reach out to her and ask for her advice; this link will take you straight to her public page.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

I want to do the nursing profession. Working conditions of nurses in the Netherlands, looks better than in Turkey and Greece. In the lesson we learned that the Dutch health system is good. I actually wanted to do a graduate but really expensive universities for non-European Union citizens. I've been to Amsterdam twice and it's a lovely city, Really Dutch people are very kind and quality people!

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8156POSTS

5 years ago

#16

Just out of interest: what nursing diploma are you working for? My daughter recently qualified here in the UK, but all UK nursing diploma's are graduate based and I thought all the Dutch ones are the same, i.e. university graduate diploma's?

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#17

Cynic wrote:
Just out of interest: what nursing diploma are you working for? My daughter recently qualified here in the UK, but all UK nursing diploma's are graduate based and I thought all the Dutch ones are the same, i.e. university graduate diploma's?

I have a faculty diploma! I'm a RN and I have 1 year work experience and I work in the hospital for the specialty and I'm working in surgical nursing
Which country does your daughter like the health system in The Nederlands or U.K.? Her experience can help me with my decision proces, swhat do you hear from her about this?By the way forgive me for my English

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8156POSTS

5 years ago

#18

My daughter is a Community Nurse; they look after the people who are not sick enough to need acute health care in a hospital but can't get to the local GP; kind of like the old District Nursing team as was in the UK.

My wife was a Geriatric trained nurse in the Netherlands, but we moved to the UK many years ago with my job. She works in a GP surgery nowadays. When we first moved here, she always said that she didn't trust the British NHS, mainly because of what she's heard in the press. After a few years and now having visited a doctors surgery and spoken to UK medical professionals, she completely changed her mind and applied for a job as a doctors receptionist, she did that for 6 months, then the team found out she was actually a nurse, complete with PIN and convince her that she could make a much better contribution by switching to the medical professional side, so she moved to the nursing team - 25 years later she's still working for them and loves her job.

You should be aware of 2 things:

COVID is really making things difficult throughout the EU; consensus is that the Healthcare scheme as we know it will have to undergo a fundamental change at the end of this as apart from the caring bit, everything else seems to have fallen apart, from PPE to insufficient staff and facilities. We are now hoping that the vaccine is going to save the day for the whole world. Suffice to say, it has prompted my daughter to move to a different area of nursing, still in the Community though.

Brexit - in 3 days time, your diploma may not be recognised in the UK, you also have to be able to speak and write English to a very high level. If you're seriously considering the UK as a possible nursing future, you may want to check out the NHS website on the subject; this link will take you straight there. My opinion is that the UK will still need foreign-trained nurses, so speak to them.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#19

Thank you for your informative answer

stamboulidisd Member

12POSTS

5 years ago

#20

Cynic wrote:
My daughter is a Community Nurse; they look after the people who are not sick enough to need acute health care in a hospital but can't get to the local GP; kind of like the old District Nursing team as was in the UK.

My wife was a Geriatric trained nurse in the Netherlands, but we moved to the UK many years ago with my job. She works in a GP surgery nowadays. When we first moved here, she always said that she didn't trust the British NHS, mainly because of what she's heard in the press. After a few years and now having visited a doctors surgery and spoken to UK medical professionals, she completely changed her mind and applied for a job as a doctors receptionist, she did that for 6 months, then the team found out she was actually a nurse, complete with PIN and convince her that she could make a much better contribution by switching to the medical professional side, so she moved to the nursing team - 25 years later she's still working for them and loves her job.

You should be aware of 2 things:

COVID is really making things difficult throughout the EU; consensus is that the Healthcare scheme as we know it will have to undergo a fundamental change at the end of this as apart from the caring bit, everything else seems to have fallen apart, from PPE to insufficient staff and facilities. We are now hoping that the vaccine is going to save the day for the whole world. Suffice to say, it has prompted my daughter to move to a different area of nursing, still in the Community though.

Brexit - in 3 days time, your diploma may not be recognised in the UK, you also have to be able to speak and write English to a very high level. If you're seriously considering the UK as a possible nursing future, you may want to check out the NHS website on the subject; this link will take you straight there. My opinion is that the UK will still need foreign-trained nurses, so speak to them.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thank you for your informative answer