Warm welcome as international nurse recruits choose Lincolnshire as a place to call home

“The one thing nurses from around the world can always unite over is good food and good company,” writes United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s deputy director of nursing Angie Davies in the latest health column. She writes:

I am really pleased to report that internationally educated nurses continue to join our hospital teams in Lincolnshire from as far away as Japan, the Philippines, India, Jamaica and Singapore.

Over the last three years more than 700 nurses have joined Lincoln, Boston and Grantham hospitals as part of our ongoing international recruitment to United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT).

We are privileged that our colleagues have chosen to come to Lincolnshire. It is not an easy thing to do, or an easy decision to make.

As a trust, we use recruitment agencies to identify nurses wishing to apply to come and work in Lincolnshire.

The nurses are interviewed by us remotely online and if appointable they are offered a job subject to the usual checks, including references and criminal record checks.

The nurses then apply for a visa, with the recruitment agency assisting with the requirements, process and all the logistics of travelling to the UK.

Once they have arrived, each nurse is required to undertake an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) at one of five Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) regulated test centres. Our on-boarding and clinical education teams at ULHT have been facilitating, teaching and supporting the nurses to prepare for their examinations.

Once passed and completed the nurses can then apply to join the NMC register and go on to work as registered nurses within the UK.

It’s a great programme which allows nurses with varying levels of experience, skills and knowledge, to get the opportunity to fulfil their wishes of re-locating to the UK and in particular to Lincolnshire. It allows them to pursue their personal ambitions and further their professional nursing careers.

However, we cannot underestimate how hard it must be for our colleagues to have to say goodbye to their friends, family and everything that is familiar to them.

To help welcome our nurses, we have set up ‘eat and greet’ social events where all members of the team can meet and share dishes and delicacies from around the world. It has been a real success and it has been inspirational to see so many colleagues from across our hospitals offer a warm welcome and join in.

No matter our experience, background or birthplace, the one thing nurses from around the world can always unite over is good food and good company.

I would like to thank all of our internationally educated nurses for choosing to come to Lincolnshire to care for our patients.