🩺 Nurse in Norway

The job and the demand

A nurse in Norway works in hospitals, home nursing, nursing homes, psychiatry and out-of-hours clinics. You observe patients, give medicines, measure vital signs, document in the record and work closely with doctors, healthcare workers and relatives. Much of the responsibility is your own: you assess the patient and speak up when something changes.

According to NAV's 2026 employer survey, employers are short of about 33,750 people in total. Health and care account for about 9,200 of them, and nurses are one of the largest groups at about 1,850. On top of that there's a shortage of about 3,650 healthcare workers and about 1,350 in other health professions. Municipalities, especially in rural areas, struggle the most.

Requirements and qualifications

Nursing is a protected profession. To work as a nurse you need Norwegian authorisation from the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet). Without it you can't use the title or take responsibility as a nurse, even if you've worked for many years in your home country.

In Norway nursing is a three-year bachelor's degree. Helsedirektoratet assesses whether your education is equivalent to the Norwegian one. Employers also expect you to communicate safely in Norwegian, both with patients and in handovers. As a health professional it's your responsibility to know enough Norwegian to work safely.

Authorisation: EU/EEA and other countries

You apply for authorisation online with Helsedirektoratet. If you trained in an EU/EEA country, your education is normally assessed under the rules for recognition of professional qualifications, and there's no formal language test in the application itself. Your employer must still make sure you know enough Norwegian, and many hospitals require B2 when hiring.

If you trained outside the EU/EEA, the application has two stages. First Helsedirektoratet assesses whether your education is equivalent to Norwegian nursing education. Then you must pass the additional requirements: Norwegian at B2 level (Norskprøven with B2 in all parts, or Bergenstesten), a course in national subjects with a course in medicines management and drug calculation, and a professional exam for nurses. The language requirement must be met before you can start the other requirements, and everything must be completed within three years. Check processing times, fees and where courses and exams are held on helsedirektoratet.no.

How to find a job

Most nursing jobs are advertised on arbeidsplassen.no and finn.no. The health trusts, such as Oslo University Hospital, Helse Bergen or St. Olav's Hospital, have their own career pages, and municipalities advertise jobs in home nursing and nursing homes. Many people start in a part-time post or a temporary position and get a permanent job later.

Staffing agencies (bemanningsbyrå) place nurses in hospitals and municipalities, often with travel and housing. That can be a good start, but read the contract carefully: who is your employer, how many hours are you guaranteed, and who pays for travel and housing? You should never pay an agency to get a job. Also make sure you have authorisation before you start – without it you can only work as an assistant.

Working conditions and rights

In hospitals and municipalities pay follows collective agreements (tariff). Pay depends on seniority and position, and you get supplements for evenings, nights, weekends and public holidays. Check the current pay scale with your employer or the Norwegian Nurses Organisation rather than relying on figures from friends.

Most nurses work a rota (turnus): a fixed plan with day, evening and night shifts and every second or third weekend. The Working Environment Act sets limits on working hours and overtime, and overtime must be paid with a supplement. Many nurses are members of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NSF), which negotiates pay, gives legal help and offers courses. You have the right to a written employment contract from day one.

Language at work

B2 is the minimum, but on the ward you'll meet dialects, a fast pace and lots of abbreviations. You'll give and receive handovers, phone the doctor, explain a treatment to an anxious patient and talk to relatives. Many hospitals use ISBAR for reporting: identify, situation, background, assessment and recommendation. Learn the structure by heart and phoning the doctor gets much easier.

Write short and concrete notes in the record, and rather ask once too often: «Can you repeat the dose?» isn't embarrassing, it's patient safety. Read incident reports and procedures in the quality system, and learn how patients say things: «Jeg har vondt i magen» (my stomach hurts) and «jeg er kvalm» (I feel sick) are heard far more often than Latin words.

Sources: helsedirektoratet.no, nav.no, hkdir.no, nsf.no, lovdata.no, arbeidsplassen.no.