Returning to practice as a nurse
We understand that when your circumstances in life change, so do your careers plans. Whether you’ve taken time away to care for a loved one, start your own family or just needed a break from healthcare, we can help you find your way back through our return to work programme.
Get in touch with our learning environment team to start your journey back into practice today.
Email LearningEnvironmentLeads@berkshire.nhs.uk
How does it work?
How you re-join the register depends on how long you’ve been away and how many practice hours you completed before you left (Allied Health Professionals should read our ‘Returning to practice as an Allied Health Professional’ section).
If you’ve completed 450 hours of registered practice in the last three years, or 750 hours of registered practice in the last five years, you can apply to re-join the register right away.
Visit the Nursing & Midwifery Council website to read about re-joining the register (opens new browser tab)
If you’re not quite there, don’t worry. We can help you apply for a return to practice course at one of our local Thames Valley universities. These can take between three to 12 months to complete and involve a work placement to help you build up your practice hours.
And it’s easy to fund your course – Health Education Thames Valley will cover your university fees and we’ll give you a little extra help with our bursaries (£250 when you start your course and another £250 once you’ve completed it).
Once you’ve completed your course and re-joined the register, we’ll upgrade your placement into a full-time position within one of our services.
Local Thames Valley universities
Take a look at our local universities to find a return to work course that's right for you:
Visit the University of West London website (opens new browser tab)
Visit the University of Bedfordshire website (opens new browser tab)
Visit the University of Northampton website (opens new browser tab)
Visit the Oxford Brookes University website (opens new browser tab)
Visit the Bucks New University website (opens new browser tab)
Returning to practice as an Allied Health Professional (AHP)
If you’re looking to restart your career as an Allied Health Professional, you’ll need to re-join the register through the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Visit the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) website to re-join the register (opens new browser tab)
Visit the Health Education England website to read more about returning to practice (opens new browser tab)
Depending on how long you’ve been away, you might need to take on a work placement, join a return to work course or do your own independent study to update your skills and knowledge.
- If you’ve been out of practice for less than two years you can re-join right away
- If you’ve been out of practice for two to five years then you need to spend 30 days updating your skills and knowledge
- If you’ve been out of practice for five years or more then you need to spend 60 days updating your skills and knowledge
Whether you decide to take on a work placement in one of our services or go on a return to practice course at a local university (don’t worry - we can help you find funding for this), get in touch with our Honorary Contracts, AHP teams, or James Slade our Learning Environment Lead, and we’ll help you start your journey back into work.
Email Honorary.Contracts@berkshire.nhs.uk
Email AHPS@berkshire.nhs.uk
Get in touch with James Slade, our Learning Environment Lead, to start your journey back into practice today.
Call 07815 485 158