Obtaining a transcript of training for working abroad.

[GS]

I was asked recently where nurses who trained in the Original Schools of Nursing could obtain a transcript
of training for working abroad if their records had not been transferred to the new schools. There is a
possibility that the Nursing and Midwifery Council may have them. Please see the enclosed link.

http://www.nmc-uk.org/Registration/Leaving-the-register/Planning-to-work-overseas-Obtaining-a-copy-of-your-transcript-of-training/

[wilfb]

Many thanks GS.

I spend many happy hours responding to emails from people seeking exactly these transcripts, and pointing them at the NMC....  It is good that there is now a clearly published position to which enquirers can be referred. But, as pointed out in the document some transcripts (I suspect that it may be quite a lot) may no longer exist.

Let's hope that in these cases the NMC alternative will satisfy overseas authorities. Some nurses working overseas seem to have been driven almost to the edge because of missing transcripts - particularly those from American/Canadian and Australian/New Zealand areas.

Have you a policy publication date?

Will.

[myk1066]

A collegue of mine is in the process of moving to NZ.  Nightmare for her.  The NZ Nursing Council want, amongst other things, a stamped Justice of the Peace, (JP), letter authenticating her identity.  It is known that in the UK, unlike NZ apparently, our JP's don't use a stamp, and like nurses in the UK, are on a register, which can be accessed by the NZ Nursing Council, to authenticat the JP.  Wouldn't you think they already know this considering she isn't the first UK registered nurse to emigrate there!
Also she trained at the now defunct Lancashire College of Nursing (LCON), second Project 2000 intake, less than 20 yrs ago.  University Of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) succeeded LCON.  Try as she might to get a transcript from UCLAN, she was pushed from pillar to post having been told they don't have a transcript of her training!  She did get a transcript from the NMC but the NZ Nursing Council want one from her training provider, which I think she now has!
Are these not legal documents?  If she were ever investigated, god forbid, would this document not be required by the investigating body?  She also had to take an English test!

[wilfb]

Hi Myke1066.

What I said in my preceding post is almost correct. What I should have said was that "I spend many unhappy hours responding to emails from people seeking exactly these transcripts, and pointing them at the NMC..."  To re-quote the latter in part:-

'If you are applying for registration overseas, you may need a transcript of your training. It is easiest to obtain this by contacting your original school of training. If this institute has closed or no longer holds these records, we can search our archives for information we may hold regarding your training.

There is no guarantee we hold a copy of your transcript. In this instance, we will forward either a copy of the relevant syllabus or EU directive'.

Our latest (July 2013) news page contained a précis of the position:-

Email messages - Training Transcripts - Qualified Nurses.
In our experience it has not been possible for nurses seeking transcripts from schools which no longer exist to obtain copies. However, we can offer a couple of links which may help in your search:-

http://www.nmc-uk.org/Registration/Leaving-the-register/Planning-to-work-overseas-Obtaining-a-copy-of-your-transcript-of-training/

http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/rcn_archives/research_advice_-_tracing_nurses/nursing_records http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

The RCN link is unfortunately being revised - but entrance can be gained if you have an RCN membership number and password, but there is no guarantee that you will find what you seek therein.

Meanwhile, the most direct link is the NMC link above.

I feel for any nurses who find themselves in the position of not being able to locate their transcript for legal purposes. We have a steady correspondence with many nurses seeking our help and we do our best to point them in the right direction. But where a transcript cannot be located (often I suspect) the NMC has the last word as the body legally responsible.

And yes, many countries have their own idiosyncratic rules - even the UK.  When my wife (retired) was asked to prove that she was still alive (UK) it took at least two (harassing) months of repetitive telephone communications before a senior member of staff told her that they had been satisfied with her first response - it was just that most people that she had been dealing with would not have understood the computer code indicating that all was satisfactory in the first place, and that she would continue to receive her pension!

There is a moral myke,  I just don't know what it is....

Will.

[Mick B]

When I worked as an NHS nurse manager (very early retirement 3 years ago), I was regularly contacted by 'agents' working for nurses who wanted to emigrate, evidently for a fee of several hundred quid they would gather all of the information and make appointments for verification and signing of documentation etc that seemed to work because it never seemed to take any longer than applying and taking up a post in the UK.