How Aspiring International Nurses Can Go from Student to Professional?
Going from a student to a fully-employed nurse is a major hurdle for many young folks. If we also add the fact that you might be leaving your home country, the issue is quickly multiplied.
Despite all the challenges, the majority of former students are chomping at the bit to test their knowledge in a professional environment. In this article, we’ll go through strategies that will help you transition from a student to a professional. More importantly, we’ll share tricks that will help you adjust to a different healthcare system.
Embrace Learning
Many nurses falsely believe that their studying days are over once they graduate. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. With the healthcare industry changing at a rapid pace, you must embrace continuous learning to stay on top of the latest technology and medical practices.
Here are a few tricks that will assist you in doing just that:
- Search local courses and online classes that you can attend without disrupting your weekly duties.
- Find certification programs that will give you an edge over other candidates. Look for programs specifically sought after in the country you’re going to.
- Try training programs that simulate real-world conditions.
If you want to go a step further, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get newsletters from major nursing journals. Reading recent studies will also keep you ahead of the eight ball, teaching you about the potential treatments for various ailments.
According to Connetics USA, you should look for friends who are also planning to go abroad. That way, you can build a friend group even before you reach your destination. Given that Connetics USA is an international nursing agency that sends medical professionals to other countries, they know a thing or two about adapting to a new environment!
Improve Communication Skills
Medical practitioners often neglect the importance of communication skills. However, as you’ll learn through your work, it is vital for doctors and nurses to master these skills.
You must be able to explain complex medical conditions in simple English. This might be very difficult for someone who isn’t a native, which is why it pays off to improve your language skills before leaving your home country. Great control of English is also vital when dealing with your colleagues.
Check out these few simple tricks that will make you a much better communicator:
- As a medical professional, you need to instill confidence in every person you’re talking to. The best way to begin is by improving your non-verbal communication and making your movements as relaxed and non-invasive as possible.
- Give patients time to ask you all the necessary questions. Even if some of their inquiries might seem dumb or repetitive, keep in mind these people are often under duress.
- Put a smile on your face and always try to make eye contact with the patient. As we love to suggest, fix your private life so you can feel at peace when you reach the workplace.
- Whenever it makes sense, show the patient there’s nothing to worry about.
Communication is also important when dealing with other healthcare professionals:
- Share vital information as soon as possible. Focus on things that matter for that particular case.
- If a patient is going through a prolonged treatment, confer with your colleagues about future course of action.
- Use group chat to update the rest of your team about any changes to a patient’s condition.
Seek Assistance
The fact you’ve finished school doesn’t yet make you a professional. You need to go through all sorts of situations to understand the challenges that come with the nursing job. Ideally, you should find a mentor in your home country who would improve your knowledge before you’re shipped abroad.
Don’t be afraid to ask people various questions during your early days. Think about how different procedures and drugs might affect a person, and if there’s something amiss, ask a colleague why a doctor has suggested this type of therapy.
Hospital residency programs are especially powerful for young professionals. If your colleagues aren’t willing to help you with your development, you might as well seek programs made by professional organizations in your country.
Work on Critical Thinking
When diagnosing a patient and checking their vital signs, you should go beyond simple data. Always remember that each of us is a unique physical being with distinctive traits. So, a treatment that might work for one individual might do nothing for someone else.
You have to learn to make informed decisions in a split second. There will be many situations when you might not have a veteran nurse or doctor nearby, so you’ll need to make a call yourself. Things are especially tricky for international nurses who find themselves in a completely new environment.
To get the most out of available data, you have to focus on the following:
- Talk to the patient about their symptoms. If a person doesn’t provide a clear answer at first, try to pry information from them.
- Look for atypical signs and think outside the box. Also, remember that a person might be suffering from several conditions simultaneously.
- Break down bigger issues into smaller parts that are easier to tackle.
- If the initial diagnosis is not working, inform the doctor as soon as possible.
Most importantly, never rely on other people to help you out in critical situations. Great nurses are usually self-sufficient and able to react to any emergency within seconds. Still, if you have the chance, it isn’t a bad idea to call your supervising medical professional and ask them for guidance.
Conclusion
Working in a different country is a big deal for any fresh graduate. Not only should you adapt to a different language and customs, you’re also forced to learn on the fly.
In these situations, you have to rely on available online and offline resources, as well as the help of your seniors. Learn how to communicate with your team so you can become more efficient. Develop critical skills to properly adapt to ever-changing patient needs.