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Q:
What is the Overseas Nurses
Programme (ONP)?
A: It is a new
preparation programme for
overseas-trained nurses
(those trained outside the
UK and European Economic
Area). It will be compulsory
for all overseas applicants
and its core elements must
be completed successfully
before applicants will be
registered by NMC.
Q:
Why is new Overseas Nursing
Programme being introduced?
A: The NMC has found
that the quality of
supervised practice
placements varies
enormously. In order to
produce a uniformly high
standard for achieving
registration, the NMC has
created a new programme that
every applicant from
overseas will have to
undertake successfully
before they are able to
register in the UK. This is
known as the Overseas Nurses
Programme (ONP).
Q:
What is the purpose of the
new programme?
A: The ONP will bring a
more rigorous approach to
the process of ensuring that
overseas-trained nurses are
competent, fully prepared
and safe to work with
patients before they are
registered with the Nursing
and Midwifery Council. This
will give the NMC a much
greater level of scrutiny
and control over the quality
of the programmes being
delivered and on the quality
of the applicants applying
for the programme.
The
ONP will include a
compulsory core element for
all overseas applicants and
supervised placements, where
appropriate, for those
requiring further experience
in helping them to apply
knowledge, understanding and
skills to healthcare
delivery in the UK. The ONP
will be approved by the NMC,
delivered locally through
service providers (and their
partners) audited and
quality assured by an
educational institution.
Ensuring that all providers
meet NMC standards will give
applicants greater
protection against the
exploitation experienced by
some overseas nurse from
recruitment scams and
abusive employers.
Q:
What are the main features
of the ONP?
A:
The main features of
ONP are:
a)
Compulsory 20 day
protected learning period.
b)
Supervised Practice
of 3-9 months depending on
NMC’s decision on
verification of the
applicant skills and
experience.
Q:
What will the 20-day
protected learning time
comprise?
A: The content will
comprise elements of nursing
in the UK with which
overseas trained nurses
wont’ be familiar. These
include UK law, consent,
relationships in the health
care team, health and safety
issues, record-keeping,
drugs administration, the
NMC code of professional
conduct and so on. Learning
about these aspects may
include work based and/or
university-based learning
Experiences.
Q.
What do you mean by
supervised Practice?
A:
After the assessment
of the 20-days of protected
learning, the overseas
trained nurses will be put
for training during a
specified period, which can
be from 3-9 months. This is
similar to the ongoing
adaptation programme.
Q.
Who can do the ONP?
A: Nurses outside the
European Economic Area who
has got an IELTS overall
band score of 6.5 academic
(with an individual score of
5.5 in Listening and Reading
and a score 6.0 in Speaking
and Writing) and having a
valid NMC decision letter
can do the ONP.
Q.
What is the duration of ONP?
A: The duration
depends on the preliminary
assessment of the
applicant’s skills and
experience by the NMC.
According to which there
will be a compulsory 20-day
protected learning Period
and a Supervised practice of
3-9 months depending on
NMC’s decision. The
protected learning period is
included in the Supervised
Practice Period.
Q:
At what level is the English
test?
A: The NMC has raised
the standard for this test.
It will still be the
International English
Language Test set by the
British Council. While the
average score remains at
6.5, the requirement is the
academic standard rather
than the general standard
currently used. This equates
with the standard required
for a degree level course in
the UK.
Q:
What about English language
testing?
A: For the first time,
every single applicant from
overseas will have to take
and pass an international
English Language test before
they can even apply to go on
the ONP.
Q:
How can I get an
NMC Decision Letter?
A: If you have an IELTS
overall band score of 6.5
Academic with 5.5 in
Listening and Reading and
6.0 in Writing and Speaking
and also having 15 months
experience, you can apply to
NMC for getting a Decision
Letter
Q:
I already have a decision
letter. How will the changes
affect me?
A: The existing
supervised practice system
will continue to be
available to all who have
received a decision letter
dated before 1 september
2005. Your decision letter
is valid for two years from
the date of issue. You have
until 31st August
2006 to complete the
required period of
supervised practice in the
existing supervised practice
system. From 1 September
2005, you will also have the
option of undertaking the
ONP, and this is the route
that the NMC recommends you
to take as a first option to
gain registration as a nurse
in the UK.
Q: What will happen if an overseas-trained nurse who has an existing decision cannot find a placement before 31st August 2006?
A: All nurses who have an existing decision dated before 31st August 2006 but cannot find a placement before this date will be required to switch on to ONP. The NMC will write to those nurses who currently hold an existing decision for supervised practice to tell them that they will be required to undertake the ONP in order to be eligible for registration as a nurse in the UK.
Q:
How much should I pay for
the program?
A: The fee will
be depend on the fee of the
Higher Education Institution
/University.
The fee will vary
based on the fee of the
University/Higher
Educational Institution and
also with the fee of the
Service provider.
Q.
How and where will the ONP
be done?
A: Protected learning
can be conducted in a
Educational setting i.e
Educational institutions
approved by the AEI
(approved educational
institution) or in a
clinical setting i.e.
Nursing homes, Hospitals,
Clinics etc.
And the supervised
practice will be carried out
in a clinical setting
approved by the AEI
Q.
What happens if an applicant
does not successfully
complete a period of
supervised practice?
A: Overseas
trained nurses undertaking
the ONP will be allowed one
further period of supervised
practice if they do not
successfully complete their
first programme.
However failure on
the grounds of misconduct
will mean that a second
opportunity is not allowed.
Applicants will not
be allowed to undertake a
second practice placement if
they have already had an
extension period granted on
their first programme.
No extension period
will be granted for a second
period of practice
experience.
Q.
What happens if an overseas
–trained nurse
discontinues their programme?
A:
Programme providers
are required to inform the
NMC if , for whatever
reason, an overseas-trained
nurse discontinues their
programme.
Q.
Won’t the new system deter
nurses from Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa and
Canada who are used to going
straight onto the
registration?
A: Nurses who are confident
that they have the skills;
competence and experience
required by the NMC will not
be deterred by the ONP.
Those who are less confident
of their abilities to meet
the requirements of the
programme may be less
willing to apply for the
programme. Equally, they may
value the 20 – day
protected learning time as a
de facto induction into
nursing in the UK.
Q.
What was behind the decision
to introduce a period of
protected learning for
overseas nurses?
A: There has been
concern that many overseas
trained nurses begin
practice without proper
preparation and little and
no understanding of the
cultural differences and
expectations of patients,
their relatives and the
public. Health care delivery
systems are also likely to
be different. Overseas
trained nurses need time to
become familiar with these
differences and to receive
guidance on coping with the
challenges these differences
might present during their
practice in the UK.
Q.
What advice would you
give to nurses wanting to
come to the UK after 1
September 2005?
A:
We strongly recommend
that nurses take a very hard
look at their qualifications
and skills to make sure that
they have a strong chance of
meeting the UK’s fitness
of practice requirements.
Once the NMC has given an
assessment for an ONP, we
would advise applicants to
confirm their place on an
approved ONP as soon as
possible and definitely
before coming to the UK.
Q.
What happens when an
overseas- trained nurse
successfully completes an
ONP programme?
A: Programme providers
are required to inform the
NMC when an overseas trained
nurse has successfully
completed an approved
programme in order to
confirm that individual’s
competence, good health and
good character, and
therefore recommending them
for registration.
Q.
How can I become a
registered nurse in UK?
A: Once you have
successfully completed the
ONP you will be getting the
PIN number and then you
become a registered nurse in
UK.
Q.
How can I reach UK to do ONP?
A: There are two ways
you could reach UK to do ONP:
a)
as a student nurse
and
b)
as a work permit
holder.
Q.
How long will the process
take place and who will help
me with the process?
A: It depends upon your
qualifications, experience,
skills and attitude. Also it
depends upon how well you
perform during the interview
and how well you understand
and cooperate with the
process.
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