In November and December 2018, I conducted scoping and framing interviews with three registered nurses—Kate, Mary, and Fran— in a New Zealand city to discuss IQNs’ professional communication experiences and aspects of identity. (Pseudonyms are used to maintain the nurses’ anonymity and confidentiality.) These interviews were not for data collection, but instead were to help me understand the links between IQNs’ real-world communication experiences with those described in the literature. I discovered that IQNs’ differing cultural backgrounds do indeed influence their verbal and non-verbal communication with colleagues, resulting in challenging workplace interactions, as found by O’Daniel and Rosenstein (2008).
Mary believed that developing communicative competence in professional settings is a complex social practice, which Zacharias’s study (2010) also discovered. Kate's explanation that the interpersonal communication skills expected of New Zealand nurses may be different to IQNs’ own experiences and expectations supported Mary's perspective, too. In Fran’s view, nurses need to initiate and build relationships through conversational gambits; e.g., using small talk to engage with others by responding to questions like ‘Where are you from?’ with an informative, rather than a cursory, answer.
IQNs ought not to feel worried about their developing understanding of the language and culture of New Zealand healthcare settings, according to Mary: “[They must] throw out the fear and be honest about their [level of] u
nderstanding. [Nursing is] a different ball game; it’s not about me, it’s about the patient.” Whilst language and cultural differences may cause upsets and tensions for both local and migrant nurses, these reduce over time as IQNs transition into their New Zealand nursing career (Walker & Clendon, 2012). As Nørgaard (2011) points out, building rapport and mutual understanding with colleagues is key to enhancing inter-collegial communica
tion and understanding for the long-term benefit of staff and patients.
REFERENCES
Nørgaard, B. (2011, December). Communication with patients and colleagues. Danish Medical Bulletin, 58(12), 1–20.
O’Daniel, M., & Rosenstein, A. H. (2008). Chapter 33: Professional communication and team collaboration. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.), Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637/
Walker, L., & Clendon, J. (2012). A multi-cultural nursing workforce: Views of New Zealand and internationally qualified nurses. Kai Tiaki Nursing Research, 3(1), 4–11.
Zacharias, N. T. (2010, June). Acknowledging learner multiple identities in the EFL classroom. K@ta, 12(1), 26–41. Retrieved from http://puslit2.petra.ac.id/ejournal/index.php/ing/article/viewFile/18022/1793
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