2 October 2023

CNWL has been part of a scheme led by NHS England to attract nursing talent from overseas. Christy Iruthayaraj was CNWL’s first internationally recruited nurse, and now she progresses into a Band 7 role as our Trust’s Pastoral Support Lead for International nurses.

Christy sat down for an interview to describe how she is feeling about starting her new role with us and explained what motivates her.

“I love exploring more in the work I am involved in both clinically and theoretically, I have been doing so since 2008 from the start of my career as a nurse. I migrated to Ireland where I was able to achieve and master leadership and quality in nursing. After I moved to London, I was teaching and supporting individuals and when this role came along it felt like a great fit for me. I found the role attractive as it contains all the key aspects and skills of teaching, training and motivating individuals to develop.”

“I am a person who always want to know more and explore new ways to support people. I would always like to make the work place a stress-free environment - believe it or not, it is a solution for a lot of issues. I feel energised and happy when I give the best support for individuals who face difficulties. I would always like to work whole heartedly, no matter what kind of role it is, be at home or at work, giving my all gives me happiness.”

We asked Christy what it meant to be able to support others who have been recruited from oversees.

“I have come across people with different cultural diversities and I’ve put myself in their shoes, and I too have experienced the unavoidable situations they had to face in terms of communication and soft skill development, so to be able to help them in that key area means a lot to me.

“I like to help nurses grow to be their best. Sometimes, international nurses can have conversations among the same cultural group - which in turn is witnessed by patients who might not understand what they are talking about so it unintentionally can lead to confusion or mistrust. Also, International nurses can lack assertiveness and not realise that self-value definitely hinders their development. Both these areas might be challenging to address but it could solve a lot of mental stress among internationally recruited nurses.”