First Day of Work as a Foreign Nurse

After years of hard work and perseverance in nursing school, passing the difficult nursing board examination and NCLEX, and countless of resumes and interviews have finally come down to this – first day of work as a foreign nurse. Nursing abroad is much different than what you usually practice in the Philippines.

Thousands of miles removed from the comforts of home, overseas jobs can be overwhelmingly difficult for some nurses who haven’t made any adjustments about working abroad. Different working environment, different working culture, and different personalities await you in a fast-paced and demanding workplace.

First day of work as a foreign nurse can be a culture shock to some people. This will be part of your adjustment phase as you get to know the people that you will be working with. In time, you will be meeting your first patient. Pretty soon you will get your baptism of fire as you get to have your first emergency case.

It would be a long day as you need to handle any changing situation and be ready to deal with the hospital’s rules and regulations. Nursing abroad can be more demanding than what you experienced back in the Philippines as some employers may require you to start your work right away. Some employers may give you time to acculturate and get to know how things are done.

Get to know your colleagues and your immediate supervisors right away so that you have enough time to mingle and bond with them. It is important to build a professional relationship because it is important to get all the needed help when it comes to taking care of patients’ health. Learn new techniques from your peers and superiors. After the end of your shift, you may go with them for dinner or have a fun night out.

Don’t be nervous or let your fear control your day as the patients and your colleagues may see you in a negative way. Nurse should exhibit confidence and hope to patients. Learn to adjust quickly and adapt to the ever demanding life of nursing abroad because no matter what you do to make things better for the patients, bad things do happen. Everyone in the hospital has experienced the same way as you are right now.

Not all nurses have started smooth sailing and there are always rough situations where we can’t do it alone. Never hesitate to ask for help from your colleagues.

Just like your first day of school, always take down notes on everything that you need to know about your work. Don’t forget to remind yourself about the people that you will be looking for in case you have issues and concerns. Be nice to your preceptors because they will guide you from the start so that transitioning to nursing life won’t be as difficult as you can imagine.

Learn to apply what you learned in nursing school but this time every action you make may have life-and-death consequences.