Nurses who to Britain came from overseas say they have felt undervalued and disrespected, researchers found.
Julia Nichols and Jackie Campbell of the University of Northampton, England,
say nurses from overseas had a number of negative experiences of British work-life that included:
-- Feeling the need to hide their skills to avoid alienating the less experienced staff they report to.
-- The belief institutional racism socially excludes overseas nurses and block career progress.
-- Having nursing skills replaced by unfamiliar and basic personal care such as feeding and washing.
-- Poor working relationships and lower-than-expected standards for care, cleanliness and equipment.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, suggests not raising expectations by over-selling, being open to new ideas rather than an "our way is the only way" style of nursing, not tolerating any form of racism, and maintaining equal opportunities.
"We need to put caring back into the heart of nursing and this extends to supporting and nurturing overseas nurses," Nichols says in a statement.
Nichols and Campbell conducted an in-depth review of 30 papers, surveys and government documents published since 1997. The total number of overseas
nurses expressing views was nearly 4,000.