International Opportunities for your Nursing Career
Nurses, all over the world, are the backbone of the health care system and cannot be praised enough. Not only they ‘nurse’ patients but often they take upon the role of a guardian who monito the patients’ status, progress and development tirelessly. Nurses provide more than just a service; nursing isn’t just a job but a vocation, exactly like for the rest of the healthcare staff and specialists.
The daily tasks of Registered Nurses (RN) may include:
- Updating patients’ records
- Managing patients’ dietary needs
- Administering drugs
- Assessing patients’ pain
- Cleaning patients’ wounds
- Monitoring patients’ vital signs
- Moving and handling patients
If we go beyond patient charts and doctors’ instructions, it’s evident that nurses rely on clear and efficient communication with their assigned patients. Their job can be facilitated even more if they are fluent in more than one language. Hospitals nowadays resemble small international and multilingual communities. To avoid the Babylon effect, all registered nurses should be able to communicate clearly and efficiently in English, as it is the primary language of communication not only in the healthcare sector but around the world.
Nurses are called to be able to read and understand with ease medicaments posology, standard international symbols on their patients screens and monitors, and medical reports, and they are often required to construct simple documents themselves in English.
Why do Nurses want to work abroad?
Based on our experience of coaching Medical English for RNs, we comprise the following reasons as to why nurses today want to work overseas:
- Change of environment in general
- Wish to work in a multilingual, multicultural environment
- New challenges to tackle
- Volunteering experience joining organisations like One Nurse At A Time
- Broader professional skills by undertaking additional training in a foreign country
How can English help RNs with their goals?
As we have stated earlier, English is acknowledged worldwide as the scientific language; it can only be a plus to every nurse’s toolkit as it will help you to:
- Apply for nursing jobs in well-respected hospitals and centers around the world
- Give confident job interviews (we have already coached successfully RN’s to their dream job)
- Become familiar with the new routine and work demands on the new job faster and better
- Assimilate better to the new country and professional environment
- Upgrade your training skills while on the new job
- Communicate with the patients: instruct post- or after- care treatment guidelines, administer medication, support emotionally patient and family
- Have a clear understanding of patients’ charts, files as well as the physician’s instructions
- Report the daily routine to the physicians in charge of their ward
- Be active in meetings, stating challenges and issues within their ward and providing reliable solutions
What do RNs need to do to prepare themselves for an international nursing career?
But what should RNs like Caroline Polt, who long for an international career and extend their experience and knowledge in prestigious hospitals around the world do? One thing is for certain: before making your next career move, it’s imperative to upgrade and solidify your English.
Here is what you need to do to get an international career as a RN:
- Start with refreshing your English; it’s that simple!
- Do your research on which country you’d like to work at and what Nursing Recruitment Agencies you can contact
- Prepare a flawless CV to present to all your future interviews
- Get coaching for giving impressive job interviews
- Set a lot of short-term goals for improving your English rather than one significant long-term objective, so you are motivated all the way through.
- Read material related to nursing in English and get familiar with the medical terms and expressions
- Upgrade your writing skills: start by writing short texts about your profession, to get familiar with the English syntax, vocabulary, and grammar
- Finally, be aware of the latest requirements for Registered Nurses who wish to work abroad. Usually, a language certificate like the IELTS is needed as proof of English proficiency in the UK and other English-speaking countries; don’t worry, we can help you prepare for that!
If you are a Registered Nurse, who dreams of an international career, or you simply want to use English with confidence with your international patients, then our Healthcare Practice Accelerator is for you!