Features
English language tests for overseas nurses: too hard, or not tough enough?
Amid concerns that the NMC’s English language standard for overseas nurses is too high, and is a significant barrier to recruitment, employers are urging the regulator to think again.
Amid concerns that the NMC’s English language standard for overseas nurses is too high, and is a significant barrier to recruitment, employers are urging the regulator to think again
Hayley Purcell admits she felt apprehensive about receiving the results of a test designed to ensure she was proficient in English.
After months of preparation, at a cost of several hundred pounds, the Australian had achieved a very good result overall, with 7.5 out of a possible nine in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
However, her failure to reach the required score in just one of the exam’s four components means her dream of living and nursing in the UK has been put on hold, perhaps forever.
‘I missed out by half
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