In-country partnership working to recruit international nurses
Humber North Yorkshire ICB began its international recruitment journey in November 2022. Initially, the organisation was taking applications directly via TRAC but wanted to take on an approach in-house that felt more ethical and supportive.
Members of the recruitment team travelled to Kerala in India, an area where the organisation had received a high volume of potential candidates to interview. The ICB felt that because Kerala sits within a green listed country and as nurses are already being trained there, it could develop a relationship with organisations in India without involving recruitment agencies, which would benefit both the individual recruits and organisations in India as they wouldn’t need to pay extra agency fees.
Key benefits and outcomes
- Having a direct relationship with the college has allowed for a more direct recruitment programme without the additional cost of agency fees.
- Building a relationship with the nurses prior to arrival helps support with settling in and adapting to the UK.
- Higher OSCE pass rate with an average pass rate of 90 percent.
- OET English tests undertaken with a valid and verified training institution.
What the organisation faced
At the beginning of the organisation’s international nursing recruitment journey, it was receiving a high number of direct overseas applications from many different countries. The ICB wanted to be able to build a stronger relationship with overseas candidates (with direct applications still being accepted), so it decided to start working on a recruitment campaign in India.
The recruitment team wanted to ensure that the organisation was recruiting ethically, while building relationships with the nurses it was recruiting prior to their arrival and also supporting the retention of existing overseas nurses.
What the organisation did
In November 2022, the ICB began building its relationship with organisations in Kerala and agreed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NORKA roots, a government arms-length recruiting organisation. A recruitment event was set up and over 100 nurses gained a position working in the ICB.
Following the recruitment campaign, the ICB decided to take a different approach, due to the high volume of applications it was receiving and began to develop a relationship with training providers in Kerala.
The team visited Pushpagiri College of Nursing and Father Muller Medical and Nursing College and built a relationship with the nursing principals at the colleges. The ICB began to work with Pushpagiri Nursing College to develop a bridging programme to support the student nurses who were interested in coming to work in the UK who were currently in training and due to qualify.
The programme the team developed is online as an educational training programme. The organisation included existing internationally-educated nurses at the ICB in developing the initial programme, to ensure it would be achievable and address any potential gaps the new nurses may have on arrival.
The nursing team continued to visit Pushpagiri College to establish a strong relationship with the college and the nurses attending and have now successfully recruited a cohort of registered adult nurses.
Results and benefits
Following the success with Pushpagiri College, the team developed a similar relationship with Father Muller Nursing College, to create a bridging programme and pipeline for mental health nurses.
In May 2024, the team visited Father Muller College with the chief nurse from Tees Esk Wear Valley (TEWV) Mental Health Trust and have now adapted the bridging course to meet the needs for mental health nursing. TEWV is now in the process of recruiting nurses from this course which has proved to be a great success.
Additionally, in May 2024, there was the first round of face-to-face interviews at Pushpagiri College, and 11 nurses were successfully appointed. These nurses had already completed the bridging course and have undertaken their OET English test with a valid training institution that is verified.
In September 2024, a new bridging course commenced for both adult and mental health nursing online. The original team have worked with the colleges (assistant chief nurse and lead nurse for education) in India, to provide vacancy figures and to establish a way in which they can collaboratively support the nurses currently in training to have a placement upon completion of their course.
As the organisation has a wide range of nurses from many different backgrounds, the organisation holds cultural awareness events to encourage colleagues to share their cultures and traditions with staff groups. This is something the organisation are continually working on and have plans to review/obtain feedback from the nurses who have been recruited via the colleges and bridging course to see how it helps them adapt and integrate with the existing nurses.
Overcoming obstacles
When the first cohort arrived in the UK and following the initial bridging programme, the nurses had some gaps in knowledge due to the difference in how they are trained and how certain treatments are practiced in India, compared with how it is practiced and trained in the NHS.
The trust identified 12 different topics the international nurses needed extra support in and included these topics in their existing bridging programme, the topics included are; Understanding the NHS, understanding the CQC, understanding the local area, professional values and accountability, the NHS multi-disciplinary team, conditions and interventions, personalisation of care and care planning, risk assessment and management, legal authority and responsibility, evidence based practice and nursing research, clinical processes and procedures (including admission, transfer and discharge), and fair and just culture (including speaking up).
Next steps
The 11 nurses recruited from the college in May 2024 will be arriving in the new year (2025) to begin their their roles as Registered Nurses once they have completed their OSCE. The evaluation and feedback of the current programmes will support this cohort of nurses with integrating into the workforce and ensuring they are educated on the different areas they will be working in.
TEWV is also in the process of recruiting registered mental health nurses following a successful bridging course.
The organisation has plans to connect with local care homes and hospices to support them with vacancies, and explore how the recruitment programme the trust has developed for the ICB could be adapted and applied for non-NHS partners.
Top tips
- Make sure the nurses receive pastoral support, for example WhatsApp group and buddying prior to them starting.
- Make sure the courses are evaluated with feedback to allow continuous development of the programme.
- Develop strong relationships with the candidates before they start.
- Know the vacancies you have and how many are required to then set up cohorts that manageable.
- Early recruitment and planning is vital.
Contact details
If you would like to get in touch, please contact Humber North Yorkshire ICB via their team inbox: hnyicb-hull.hnykeralarecruitment@nhs.net
