Student Nurses | English For Nurses

erasmus+ programme
intercultural learning in nursing

We are an international nurses network offering Erasmus placements in the UK for European student nurses. We hope to resume placements in Autumn 2022, depending on the situation with COVID-19 in the UK. Our last student report was submitted just before the pandemic, but we hope to have many more wonderful and inspiring Erasmus experiences to share with you next year. If you are a student nurse and would like to talk about a placement, please get in contact with us. We would love to hear from you!

English for Nurses thoroughly encourages hands-on experience!

Through the Erasmus+ programme, English for Nurses takes a leading role in facilitating practical placements for overseas student nurses in UK Hospitals. This has proven to be a brilliant way for student nurses to gain an invaluable insight into British nursing culture. It is also a fantastic opportunity for them to develop their language skills by being an active part of working-life on English-speaking wards. For senior staff at UK hospitals, it offers a chance to enrich and diversify their own wards by hosting gifted and enthusiastic overseas students.

Our teachers at English for Nurses have many years of real experience of what to expect when coming to the the UK as an overseas nurse. We can offer support and guidance to overseas students and also work closely with UK hospitals who would like to become hosts.

EfN have already had great success with many talented student nurses who have enjoyed their time here and found it to be a broadening and memorable experience. Towards the end of their placement, we invite our student nurses to reflect a little on their stay, share their impressions, and to write a brief report about their experience on a UK ward. We also encourage nursing experts, managers and mentors from these hospitals to submit reports and share their thoughts from the perspective of the host.

We are sure that these reports will be helpful and enlightening for any overseas student nurses or UK nursing experts who are interested in becoming a part of this excellent and colourful programme.

If you are considering a placement in the UK, or would like to host a placement in your own hospital, we hope you enjoy reading their inspirational stories and we encourage you to get in contact with EfN, follow in their footsteps, and eventually write one of your own!

Let’s Talk About Cumbria by Eike Ivo, Jana and Sebastian - 30/8/2019
Eike Ivo, Jana and Sebastian (three nursing students from Bremen) recently returned from a 6-week Erasmus+ work placement at the hospitals of the North Cumbria University Hospital NHS Trust in England. Once again, the placement proved to be a hugely … Continue reading →
Anna-Katharina and Henriette at the Spire St. Anthony’s Hospital - 13/5/2019
In February and March, two more student nurses from Germany undertook work placements at the Spire St. Anthony’s Hospital in Sutton. After completing their placements, we asked Anna-Katharina and Henriette (pictured below) to write reports of their time living and working … Continue reading →
Paula’s Erasmus Placement at the Spire Hospital in Southampton - 7/5/2019
Between 11/03/2019 and 18/04/2019, Paula completed an Erasmus work placement at The Spire Hospital in Sutton. She has written a comprehensive report of her experience, which you can read below. Well done Paula – you are a star! Continue reading →
Lena and Lucia’s 4 Week Placement at St. Anthony’s in Sutton - 11/3/2019
In November 2018, Lena and Lucia completed a 4 week Erasmus work placement at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Sutton. They have written a comprehensive report of their experience, which you can read below. Congratulations on your achievement, Lena and Lucia, … Continue reading →
Kira, Anastasia and Dana at St. Anthony’s Hospital, Sutton. - 4/2/2019
16/09/2018 to 13/10/2018 We really enjoyed our Erasmus+ stay in Great Britain, especially the chance to work in a hospital. German students don’t often have the chance to work in a hospital abroad. We worked at a private one, St. … Continue reading →
Sabine Discusses the Erasmus+ Programme at the Mobility Agency in Hamburg - 29/1/2019
English for Nurses’ director Sabine Torgler recently attended a meeting at the mobility agency ‘Arbeit und Leben’ in Hamburg. There she met Lena and Isabel who are our co-op partners for the Erasmus+ Programme and will send 15 student nurses to … Continue reading →
Four Students from Bremen go to the UK - 29/1/2019
For the first time, Bremische Schwesternschaft vom Roten Kreuz e.V. sent students to England, which made us very happy. In October 2018 Jana, Justine and Nils (students for the care of the elderly) and Cagla (nursing student) went to Chertsey, … Continue reading →
German Nurses’ Expert Trip to Bristol / UK, 2018 by Michael Brune - 30/10/2018
Schon am Sonntagabend, dem Anreisetag, haben wir uns in einem Restaurant mit der Organisatorin Sabine Torgler von „English for Nurses“ getroffen, als auch mit den anderen Teilnehmern der Expertenreise. Es war von Anfang an eine sehr angenehme und offene Runde, … Continue reading →
Kimberley and Rieke’s 7 Week Placement at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol - 30/10/2017
During our forensic psychiatry placement in in Bristol, we learned a lot. On the one hand we were able to improve our knowledge of mental health care. But, we learned so much more than that: life in a shared flat, … Continue reading →
A New Report on the Expert Group Visit 2017 - 8/8/2017
In our last post we shared with you a report from our ‘Expert’ visit 2017 during which a select group of German healthcare professionals had the opportunity to tour a range of hospitals and training facilities in our home city … Continue reading →
The Expert Group Visit – June 2017 - 20/7/2017
With a network of contacts in the UK and throughout Europe, EfN have been able to arrange several successful visits of nursing professionals to the UK. These ‘Expert’ visits allow healthcare professionals, managers and academics to spend time in Bristol and gain first-hand experience of hospital facilities, nursing training and development. This month, we welcomed professionals from Hamburg, Munich and Bremen. We were also delighted to be joined by our patron, Professor Jacqui Filkins from Cumbria.

Below you can read an insightful report from one of our German colleagues about this latest visit: Continue reading →
My 5 Week Internship at the Spire Hospital in Leicester, England – by Leonie Schuster - 6/6/2017
On the evening of the 25th of March 2017 I arrived at the beautiful house of my host family. When I stepped out of the taxi, which stopped about 50 meters away from my ‘new-home-for-the-coming-5-weeks’, my new host sisters (6 … Continue reading →
Seven weeks in Maryport, England - 21/4/2017
Seven weeks in Maryport, England by Katharina Kuckeland During my training as a nurse I had the opportunity to go abroad to another hospital. ERASMUS+ sent me to a lovely place called Maryport, a small town in Cumbria, a hilly … Continue reading →
My Erasmus Exchange in Cumbria - 21/4/2017
My Erasmus Exchange in Cumbria By Frauke Hofhus February 2017 Cockermouth is a small town in the Western Lake District. The hospital has one ward with 11 beds. In the hospital there were Staff Nurses, Healthcare Assistants and Assistant Practitioners. … Continue reading →
A Review of my Participation in the Erasmus+ Program - 21/4/2017
A Review of my Participation in the Erasmus+ Program by Laura L. Cockermouth, England, 06.02.2017-12.03.2017 As a part of the Erasmus+ program a schoolmate and I had the opportunity to spend five weeks in a hospital in the north of … Continue reading →
A Report About My Time In Cumbria, England - 21/4/2017
A Report About My Time In Cumbria, England By Judith Ernst My time abroad is nearly over now and I can’t believe how much I feel at home here in England, even after such a short time. During these last … Continue reading →
My Erasmus Exchange in Penrith Hospital, UK – by Sharon Burkhard - 3/1/2017
Penrith Hospital 7th October 2016 to 20th November 2016 I flew on the 7th October 2016 from Dusseldorf to Newcastle for six weeks. From there I took the train and drove to Carlisle, after changing in Carlise (15 min) I … Continue reading →
Our Erasmus Exchange in Leicester, UK – By Sünje and Lisa - 23/12/2016
Lisa and I went on an internship abroad to Leicester, England. We lived with our friendly host mother Cathryn and her lovely daughters, who were ages 6 and 7. From the very first moment, she made us feel very welcome. … Continue reading →
My Erasmus+ Programme experience in Carlisle: a short report by Tay Duc Nguyen - 12/12/2016
My Erasmus + Programme experience in Carlisle: a short report by Tay Duc Nguyen My Erasmus + placement was in the Westmoreland General Hospital in Kendal. This report will briefly present my experiences. The Hospital in Kendal is a community … Continue reading →
My Erasmus + Exchange in Carlisle, Cumbria, in Northern England – by Hannes Gropengiesser - 12/12/2016
My Erasmus+ Exchange in Carlisle, Cumbria, in Northern England by Hannes Gropengiesser It is October 2016 and just a few months ago I found out the destination for my exchange. I will spend six weeks, just a few minutes from … Continue reading →
Lisa Müller from Hamburg – working as an Overseas student nurse at St. Antony’s Hospital (Spire) in Sutton - 12/10/2016
Please read the article here. Continue reading →
Julius Jahner and Ann Kathrin Gobien – Working as a nursing student for the National Health Services in Cumbria - 13/9/2016
About our placement in Penrith… Working as a nursing student for the National Health Services in Cumbria… In April 2016, we moved to Penrith in North Cumbria for 6 weeks to do our placement at the Community Hospital in Penrith. … Continue reading →
Alice Koch – My Erasmus+ Placement in the Community Care of Carlisle - 13/9/2016
My Erasmus+ Placement in the Community Care of Carlisle Travel & Accommodation Arrival: The cheapest tickets to get to the North of England are with KLM airlines. I flew to Newcastle Airport which is about 100k from Carlisle. It takes … Continue reading →
Article of Heidrun Pundt (Education Lead Nurse from Bremen and Member of the German Nursing Association DBfK) - 5/9/2016
I attended the Nurses Expert Trip ‚English for Nurses – intercultural learning‘ from 30.08.2016 – 02.09.2016 in Bristol. All of us (another 9 colleagues) received a warm welcome from Sabine at English for Nurses. On the first day Ms Bella … Continue reading →
Our Exchange Experience by Christina & Janine - 14/1/2016
Last September we began our journey to Leicester to undertake work experience at the Spire Hospital. We worked for four weeks, helping the Staff Nurses on Ward Two. Everyone was very friendly and helped us get off to a good … Continue reading →
My amazing time in Bristol - 12/1/2016
My amazing time in Bristol

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Our work experience at Spire Hospital Leicester - 4/1/2016
Hello, we are Kaja (22) and Simone (21) , two student nurses from Germany-Hamburg. Kaja works at Asklepios Klinikum Nord and Simone at Asklepios Westklinikum Rissen, but we are in the same class at school. In November and December we … Continue reading →
4 Weeks in Bristol by Vanessa Bethge - 16/12/2015
I spent 4 weeks in beautiful Bristol from the 11th of July to the 8th of August. I had a very nice time there and it was a great experience towards my Nursing Training. I would advise everyone to do … Continue reading →
My Work Experience Report by Desireé Schulz - 15/12/2015
I spent 4 weeks in Leicester with Michelle… or should I say 4 days? Because it really felt like that. These four weeks were among the best of all my training to become a nurse. I learned and enjoyed so … Continue reading →
My work experience in Bristol at the Spire hospital (“The Glen“) - 1/12/2015

my work experience in Bristol at the Spire hospital (“The Glen“)

Hello!

My name is Merle and I am currently training to become a general nurse in Germany at the Ev. Amalie Sieveking- Krankenhaus in Volksdorf. I´m in my fourth year of training. I am also doing a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Science at the Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften in Hamburg. I was given the opportunity to come to Bristol between the 10th of August 2015 and the 20th of September 2015 for work experience through the ERASMUS scholarship program. Continue reading →
First Bristol Student Nurse – Julia - 22/5/2015
Hello, I am Julia. I am doing my nurse training in Germany at Charité Berlin and spent four weeks in Spire Hospital (“The Glen”) for a work experience.

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EfN Graduate, Sandrine Does Vital Voluntary Work in Laos! - 7/4/2015
It is always wonderful to hear how the former students from our courses are getting on and how their careers are developing after their time with English For Nurses. We know that the world of medicine can take people far and wide in the world.

We were delighted to read a short article written by Sandrine – a midwife and one of our former students from Switzerland – who had recently travelled to Laos to work in a small hospital where she was able to offer training, and exchange skills and knowledge with the local nurses. We thoroughly recommend taking a few minutes to have a read of her excellent report; it is a fascinating and illuminating glimpse into the life (….and many, many challenges) of women, nurses and midwives in Laos.

We wish all our students the very best for the future and their careers, whatever they do and wherever they do it!

Well done and Thank You, Sandrine! (pictured below on the left)

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