Engaging with a new reality: experiences of overseas minority ethnic nurses in the NHS

Aim and objective. The purpose of this study was to explore, describe and develop a greater understanding of the experiences of overseas black and minority ethnic nurses in the National Health Service (NHS) in the south of England. Background. For the past five decades, the NHS has been recruiting overseas black and minority ethnic nurses from several former British colonies to alleviate the manpower shortages. More recently there has been a shortage of nurses in the labour force and as a result the NHS has once again recruited overseas nurses. Despite this recruitment drive there are limited studies outlining how overseas black and minority nurses have fared in the NHS. Methods. This qualitative phenomenological study used four purposeful focus groups and all participants involved were interviewed at a place convenient for them. These all non-white participants originated from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Each focus group contained six participants with an overall total of 24 participants involved in the study. Results. Following thematic analysis, the findings revealed six themes such as, the devaluation process, concept of self-blame, discrimination/lack of equal opportunity, concept of invisibility, experiencing fear and benefits of being here. Several overseas nurses felt devalued and indicated that white UK nurses appeared to have placed little trust in them. They stated that both discrimination and lack of equal opportunity were present in the workplace and they also revealed that some white UK nurses were sometimes abusive. As a result they tolerated such behaviour for fear of being thrown out with their families. Despite such negative experiences participants indicated that the experiences gained whilst working in the NHS were useful. Conclusions. There is a need for overseas nurses to be treated fairly and with respect particularly in the light of an acute labour shortage of nurses in the NHS. The findings suggest that overseas minority ethnic nurses' experiences have been mixed, with some positive as well as negative experiences, within a process that devalues them as workers. Relevance to clinical practice. This paper highlights a need for a re-evaluation of equal opportunity policies and proposes more diversity training so as to prepare nurses to cope with an increasingly complex and diverse workforce.