First Year’s Work Experiences of Foreign Educated Nurses Coming to Norway From Other European Countries

Abstract

Introduction Nurses educated in the European Union and European Economic Area are automatically given professional authorization to work in all member states, facilitating workforce mobility between countries. Along with many other European countries, Norway faces nursing shortages in healthcare. European Foreign Educated Nurses are often recruited to work in Norway by agencies or apply for work themselves. Aims To explore the experiences Foreign Educated Nurses from European Union and European Economic Area had with their preparation and orientation programs and their first year of work in Norwegian elderly care institutions Methods The study followed a qualitative explorative design. Nine open, dialogue-based, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Foreign Educated Nurses from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Iceland, and Spain. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings One main theme, struggling to adjust to professional competence standards, and four subthemes emerged from our data (1) deficiencies in preparation and orientation by recruitment agencies and institutions, (2) language skills and communication challenges at work, (3) cultural differences in the nursing role in clinical practice, and (4) social interactions at work. Conclusion More comprehensive preparation and orientation programs regarding language skills and local healthcare systems are needed. Foreign Educated Nurses make important contributions to the Norwegian healthcare work force, but the challenges brought to light in this study negatively affected their work conditions and can possibly threaten patient safety. More research is suggested to address the lack of collaboration between agencies, healthcare institutions, and other stakeholders in establishing professional standards and appropriate support for Foreign Educated Nurses from European Union and European Economic Area.

Experiences lived by international nurses concerning professional integration and interpersonal relationships in the workplace: qualitative research

“…An important point is the need to plan training according to the needs of nurses, which may imply the need for longer training. Another important issue is that the hiring of international nurses is generally a strategy used to solve the shortage of nurses, and this fact can shorten the orientation period for international nurses (Solum et al. , 2020).…”

“…On the other hand, good relations with colleagues and patients may facilitate international nurses' adaptation processes. Other factors, such as differences in nursing practice, the implementation of orientation programs, the possibility of gaining experience working abroad and job satisfaction also influence the professional integration of international nurses (Alanazi and Yates, 2022;Solum et al, 2020;Zakaria and Yusuf, 2022). It is important to discuss the experiences, backgrounds and perceptions of international nurses, especially because the topic is not sufficiently documented (Keshet and Popper-Giveon, 2016).…”

“…Although inadequate support in the workplace is a common problem faced by international nurses (Viken et al, 2018), the role of the employer organization in facilitating professional integration for international nurses has not been sufficiently emphasized in the scientific literature (Ramji and Etowa, 2018). This support refers, among others, to the implementation of orientation programs with integration between nursing practices inherent in the host country and practices previously developed by nurses in their countries of origin (Higginbottom, 2011;Jose, 2011;Solum et al, 2020) because on contrary to what many people think, the nursing profession is not universal since it is associated to different cultures and laws according to the country where it is practiced (Viken et al, 2018). It is also important to clarify that as international nurses acquire new knowledge, gain experience and are recognized, they can reach job satisfaction which will facilitate their entire process of professional integration (Alanazi and Yates, 2022;Higginbottom, 2011).…”

Foreign Healthcare Professionals in Germany: A Questionnaire Survey Evaluating Discrimination Experiences and Equal Treatment at Two Large University Hospitals

“…Earlier studies [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ] reported that international nurses felt distressed, confused, and humiliated by the discrimination they experienced while working. Participants reported incidents of discrimination including ‘patients displaying racist behaviour’, ‘refusal of care by international or Black nurses’ and ‘staff undermining the work of their international colleagues or drawing unfair conclusions about morale, motivation or character’ [ 26 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ].…”

“…Several other European studies focused on the labour market integration of medical healthcare professionals in terms of language acquisition, qualification recognition, and onboarding processes [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”