Exploring the perceptions and work experiences of internationally recruited neonatal nurses: a qualitative study

Aim. To explore the perceptions and work experiences of internationally recruited neonatal nurses. Background. Neonatal nursing and health care are global issues facing developing and developed countries. In the UK, the recruitment of international nurses to address the labour shortage is not a new phenomenon. Methods. A purposeful sample was drawn from internationally recruited neonatal nurses, working at two teaching hospitals in London. Husserl’s phenomenological approach underpins this study. Thirteen nurses, (all female) participated in the study and semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews were conducted to capture the unique perceptions and experiences of neonatal nurses at two hospital sites. A qualitative approach was adopted and this study used Colaizzi’s analytical framework to analyse the data. Results. The analysis of the data resulted in four themes namely the support mechanisms, unfamiliarity with family centred care, feelings of being treated like a child and coping strategies. Conclusion. It can be concluded that in recruiting internationally recruited neonatal nurses to work in the NHS, there is a need to support them, encourage them to become familiar with family centred care and they should be treated as qualified nurses. Therefore, there is a need to consider these findings in any recruitment process involving neonatal nurses. Relevance to clinical practice. Internationally recruited neonatal nurses play an important role in caring for neonates in the NHS in the UK however meeting their needs have not always been addressed in the health care setting.