Walking out of Heathrow Airport was both daunting and exciting as I exited into a new world. You see, I am an internationally trained nurse with six years’ experience, having worked in various Nigerian healthcare systems. But a few years ago, I’d decided that it was time to enhance my career, learn new cultures, and reach the zenith of my professional journey. As such, it was time for me to relocate to a country where my career aspirations could be realised.

I left Nigeria for the UK at the peak of Covid – a period where there were a lot of uncertainties and trepidation about a novel disease, with scary mortality rates. Everyone had labelled me “insane”, spontaneous, and “irrational” for making the move in March 2020. At some point, I also began to question my rationale for wanting to make the move and re-evaluated my reasons. Ultimately, I concluded that opportunities were timely and priceless – and would not always abound. Therefore, to achieve my projections for personal and professional growth, there was no backing out, irrespective of the risks involved.

Indeed, I walked into a masked world where I became the cynosure of all eyes, as I was constantly watched and stared at, with little to no opportunity for me to understand these faces behind the mask – or to decipher if they were smiling, frowning, or indifferent to the almost scared nurse with multiple questions and uncertainties while attending to their needs.

Well, despite these, I’d built a solid portfolio in my career four years later by becoming an award-winning nurse and the first black practice educator at University Hospitals Dorset. These provided opportunities for coaching and mentoring international nurses about my experiences, my growth, and how I navigated through transitioning to the UK health system.

Making these strides and being successful at them required being intentional and deliberate. I also needed focused mentorship and meticulous guidance with taking the right steps, prompting me to participate in a number of professional development courses and academic conferences to network with others. It was at the first leadership and development training for Nigerian nurses in the UK at London South Bank University that I met the strikingly exceptional Dr Josephine NwaAmaka Bardi, who mirrored the quality of a culturally informed nurse and nurse educator that I always aspired to become, and who has become an instrumental coach, mentor, and critical friend.

When Dr Bardi proposed that I write an article on how I’d benefited from nursing in the UK, I reminisced on why I’d started this journey from nursing in Nigeria to nursing in the UK. With the negativity overshadowing nursing in the UK, writing a blog about positive experiences seemed far-fetched with the increasing number of nurses leaving the NMC register, working as agency nurses, alongside nurses being overworked, underpaid, and understaffed.

What was authentic about sharing positive experiences about nursing in the UK?

After sincerely reflecting and evaluating my UK nursing experience, I’d realised how transformational my life and career had become because I chose to relocate. Irrespective of the abounding challenges in the NHS and nursing workforce, I’ve had a wonderful experience working in the UK as an internationally recruited nurse. Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been all rosy, but I’ve chosen to make lemon pie and the best lemonade ever out of any lemon. Dr Bardi had also suggested that we (her Nigerian nurses’ mentees) celebrate the positives, and that was what I intended to do.

So what have been the positive experiences?

My perspective and learning on person-centred care and the provision of standardised care have been transformed, with a focus on the individual as the centre of all treatment plans. As such, the patient’s choice is always prioritised and drives every decision. While delivering care in the UK, I’ve learned to be more of an active listener, particularly when engaging with the patient and prioritising their opinions. I’ve also learned and inculcated into my practice, active involvement and participation of patients in everything about their care, enabling them to be open about expressing their opinions without being pressured to accept the imposed limits of the healthcare provider.

Working in teams with individuals focused on improving the quality of healthcare through intentional, continuous learning and training has also been a highlight of the benefits of my nursing experience in the UK. I’ve had a wealth of opportunity working with ward leaders and matrons who practice an open-door approach and are quite eager to teach and coach, to improve my knowledge and skills, and to ensure quality patient care.

With the advent and continuous takeover of technological advancement and development in nursing, working in the UK has armed me with solid technological knowledge and skills, piquing my interest and equipping me with different software programmes with electronic records, data analysis, and health informatics.

Meeting and networking with powerful nursing leaders globally, such as Dr. Bardi, Professor Calvin Moorley, Felicia Kwaku OBE, Dr. Nicola Ranger, and a host of powerful transformational leaders, was possible because I’d taken the step to practise in the UK. Quite frankly, this would have been a hassle if I’d not chased my dream and been courageous enough to make the move.

The growth has been unquantifiable, and the opportunities for diversification in my career have been endless. As a leader and an active voice and change agent in the Nigerian nursing community in Dorset, I’ve had such massive growth in my career to positively influence the Nigerian nursing community as well. Together with a group of colleagues, we founded a nursing scholarship scheme for indigent nurses in Nigeria, which has helped provide access to nursing education for a number of nurses. I’d also founded LasgidiNurses to cater to sexually assaulted teenagers and pregnant teens in impoverished communities in Nigeria, as a result of the financial gains and networks in the UK.

What should change about the nursing profession in the Nigerian healthcare delivery system?

Speaking with Dr Bardi, we both believe that a change in the culture of patient care must start with nursing curriculum design, learning and teaching, and policy development. In other words, to change the culture of healthcare provision, we must first change the thinking of healthcare providers when they start nursing school.

Implementing government policies and a societal culture that enriches, recognises, respects, and celebrates nurses in Nigeria, providing nursing scholarships and job opportunities, and creating a sustainable healthcare system with nurses among the stakeholders are key to improving Nigerian healthcare delivery and the nursing profession.

Chidimma Chukukere a clinical sister working in University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.