S3 Ep 2 - The One With Nurse Sonja - Licence To Practise - from South Africa to UK - OET For Nurses
** Sit back and listen, it's time for Licence to Practise by IELTS Medical.
Link: https://youtu.be/dozazi4rk-8
In Season 3 Episode 2 - The One With Nurse Sonja - Christina speaks with Sonja, a UK Registered Nurse who moved to the UK from South Africa.
Featured Course: OET for Nurses : https://www.iemedical.co.uk/oet-preparation
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Christina:
Hello, and welcome back to season three of License to Practice from IELTS Medical. Today, we're going to be talking with community nurse Sonja, who's moved to the UK from South Africa. Don't forget to like and subscribe so that you never miss an episode, and let's give Sonja a call. Hello?
Sonja:
Hello?
Christina:
Hiya. How are you today?
Sonja:
I'm well, thanks. And yourself?
Christina:
Yes, very well. Thank you. Sonja, thank you so much for coming on our podcast, and sharing your story with us and everyone listening. If we could just start by just learning a little bit about you.
Sonja:
My name is Sonja, I'm a registered nurse from South Africa. I've worked in private entities in later years. My startup as a staff nurse was in a government hospital, but unfortunately, the government hospitals in South Africa doesn't do so well. Phlebotomy and registered nursing was my thing. My husband's English, so yes, we decided to come to the UK. We decided that it was worth it to try and get my qualifications this side of the UK.
Christina:
And how did you find that?
Sonja:
Pretty difficult most of the time. I think if I didn't have [inaudible 00:01:34], I think I would've really battled even more to get my qualification.
Christina:
Oh, okay. What courses did you do then? Did you do courses for all of your exams, or just one or two?
Sonja:
No, no. I did courses for all my exams through [inaudible 00:01:49], and to be honest with you, I don't think I would've done that if she wasn't there to guide me.
Christina:
What do you think it was about the courses... Obviously, you did OSCE, you did CBT, and did you...
Sonja:
Yes, I did...
Christina:
Did you do the [inaudible 00:02:01]?
Sonja:
... OET as well.
Christina:
Oh, you did the OET.
Speaker 1:
Are you an overseas qualified nurse who would like to take the first step of registration with the NMC? One way to do that is by achieving four grade Bs on the occupational English test. OET is a language exam with an emphasis on real situations UK medical staff encounter on a daily basis. Here at IELTS Medical, we have qualified, native-English, OET-trained tutors who are ready, willing, and able to provide you with the best learning experience. We've seen lots of EU and overseas qualified nurses through to a first-time OET pass, and we'd like to do the same for you. Inquire today about how we can assist you, too.
Christina:
Yeah. How come you chose the OET over the IELTS? Was there a reason for that, or was it timing?
Sonja:
No, no, no. The reason for that is because it is more medically-related. The things that they ask about is writing letters, and so on. I was able to study better with that than doing a essay, for example, that I had no clue about.
Christina:
Yeah. And do you feel like doing that exam prepared you for working in the UK as well, or helped with that in any way?
Sonja:
Yes, definitely. It did. The one thing is, my husband's luckily English, so that helped me a lot. My kids are English as well. English is the second language, but I'm lucky for quite a few years. Getting the different accents right, every person's got a different way of speaking English, and just to try and understand what everybody is saying, because it still feels like you speak a foreign language, even though you speak English.
Christina:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. In terms of the CBT and the OSCE, then, what sort of things do you think specifically helped with your preparation for those two exams?
Sonja:
The OSCE, I did the program for five days, and it was really good that they were able to guide me with what I was doing wrong so I can try and improve on that when I was doing my exams. The same with the CBT, that I went in and I wrote it, and luckily, I passed both times. Unfortunately, mine expired, obviously because of COVID, and I had to redo it. Yeah. But it was good. I rewrote again and it was fine. The first time was a pass, so wasn't that much of a problem.
Christina:
Yeah. Did you start all of your exams after you'd moved over? You didn't start them at all whilst you were still living in South Africa?
Sonja:
I did try and do them in South Africa. I did the IELTS in South Africa, but like I say, I battle to keep my seventh mark that they wanted. Before I came over, the writing was still a seven, so it was definitely more harder there to try and do it.
Christina:
Yeah. Yeah. And so, have you noticed any big differences between working as a nurse in the UK and working as a nurse in South Africa?
Sonja:
Yes. In South Africa, we were trained in all kinds of... How can I put it? We did surgical, cardiac. You didn't do just one specific thing, like diabetes. You would've been trained in all of that. I find here that they specialize more than we did in South Africa, and to be honest with you, it's fine, [inaudible 00:06:02] ... quite a bit limiting, though, with positions that you can apply for, then.
Christina:
Yeah, okay. Okay. What do you specialize in?
Sonja:
At the moment, I'm working as a community nurse.
Christina:
Oh, you're community nurse. Yeah.
Sonja:
Yeah. Yeah. In South Africa, we didn't have community nursing, so it's quite a new avenue for me, and every day is a learning curve, to be honest with you.
Christina:
Yeah. Yeah. I can imagine. How long have you been... When did you get your pin? How long have you been working for, now?
Sonja:
[inaudible 00:06:33] Yeah. I only got my pin on the 19th of April.
Christina:
Oh, did you? Oh, right. Yeah, not that long ago, then.
Sonja:
It's been a three years of trying to get it, and loads and loads of money, because unfortunately, I didn't anything through an agency, I did it all by myself.
Christina:
Did you?
Sonja:
Yes. Definitely a learning curve with what you should do, in what order you should do it, as well.
Christina:
Okay. On that note then, obviously, you've been through it now. You've completed it. You've got your pin. But obviously, you just mentioned the order, there. What advice would you give to people that are maybe just starting the journey?
Sonja:
I would definitely tell them that they need to, before they register with the NMC, to do either their IELTS or the OET first. Because, if they don't have that, especially coming from South Africa, your problem is that you can't continue with any of the other things. It takes you longer to do it, if I can put it that way. Because if you pass your OET and you've already registered, depending on how long it takes you to pass your OET or your IELTS, that just makes it drag on, and the NMC doesn't look at all your information, and your documents that you send in straight away. Sometimes, they'll wait a while before you phone them again, and then they'll say, "Oh, no. But you haven't passed. You should've done this, or you should've done that. The thing is definitely, do your OET, CBT, and then go for all the others. I think that that would also make the length of time that you're trying to do it in hopefully shorter.
Christina:
Yeah. Okay. That's good advice. Practical advice.
Sonja:
Sorry. And persevere. Don't let anybody tell you can't do it. You can do it. Even if it takes a little bit longer, you can still do it.
Christina:
Great to hear. Just words of encouragement, really. And yeah, like I said, practical advice about the order of it. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your journey. I feel like I've learned a few things from you as well. Do you have any final words of wisdom before I let you go?
Sonja:
Yes. Ask people. There's loads of people that will help you. Unfortunately, not everybody's prepared to help you, but most people are prepared to help you, and to support you. If you need help, ask for it. You will get it.
Christina:
Yeah. Great. Thank you so much for that, Sonja, and congratulations...
Sonja:
Thank you.
Christina:
... on becoming a UK-registered nurse, and I wish you all the best.
Sonja:
Thank you, Christina. Have a lovely day.
Christina:
Thank you, you too.
Sonja:
Thank. Bye.
Christina:
Thank you so much for listening to my chat with Sonja. I really hope that you enjoyed it and found it helpful. Don't forget to like and subscribe so that you never miss an episode, and I will see you next time. And, as always, to your success.
