What is it about?

The aim of the study was to understand what nurse educators perceived were the communication experiences and training needs of overseas qualified nurses in the Australian healthcare system. We found that, from the perspective of nurse educators, overseas trained nurses were reluctant to communicate with patients because of lack of confidence, there were perceived cultural differences between the overseas trained nurses, nurses trained in Australia and doctors.

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Why is it important?

This work is important because it shows that communication cannot be just regarded as a skill that is taught in a classroom. Comprehensive understanding is needed about the complex issues affecting overseas trained nurses' everyday activities in how they communicate in their new healthcare settings.

Perspectives

This article should encourage people to reflect about the challenges faced by overseas trained nurses who work in another country. It is not just a matter of providing them with classroom teaching to bring them up to the expected level. Closer attention is needed on determining the difficulties encountered by these nurses, and determining different ways of helping them to communicate with other health professionals and with patients in the clinical setting.

Professor Elizabeth Manias
Deakin University

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This page is a summary of: Nursing educator perspectives of overseas qualified nurses' intercultural clinical communication: barriers, enablers and engagement strategies, Journal of Clinical Nursing, June 2015, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/jocn.12879.
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