Working in Saudi Arabia

The process before going to Saudi Arabia to work as a nurse seemed never ending at times. A lot of paperwork and medical exams to go through, but all of a sudden, when I started to think I would never get going, an e-mail from Profco came, saying that my flight tickets were booked!

I had, via Profco, got in touch with another Swedish girl going at the same time as me, and we met up in Istanbul and flew together from there to Riyadh. We were both very excited and nervous and by the time we reached Riyadh it felt like we had known each other for years, after talking and laughing all the way.

At the airport in Riyadh a nice lady working in King Faisal Hospital came to pick us up and took us to our new home; the nurse accommodation on the hospital grounds. The apartment was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. I’ve got a big bedroom with my own bathroom, and I share kitchen, living room and laundry room with another girl. On the compound there are two swimming pools, a tennis court and a gym, and do I have to tell you that a lot of time was spent by the pool the first weeks?

On my first day my new flatmate from US took me, and my new Swedish friend I flew here with, on a tour around the hospital and then to a market in Riyadh to buy an abaya ( the black cloak we have to wear over our clothes when we’re going out in the city).

The next day our nursing orientation started and I got to meet other new staff of KFSH. The orientation weeks were a lot of fun, with orientation of the hospital and the different settings, fire safety training, orientation to living in Riyadh, a shopping trip in the city and lots more.

During the orientation weeks I visited my ward and got to meet my head nurse, my clinical instructor, the staff and the nurse who was going to be my preceptor during my first weeks on the ward.

The first months in Riyadh were very busy and a lot of fun, with lots of new things to learn, a lot of education from the hospital (at times I felt like a student again), a new city to explore (with a huge amount of shopping centres ) and many new friends to get to know.

All in all it’s a very positive experience coming to Saudi Arabia, but I don’t think anyone can say that it’s easy. The culture and way of living is very different from what we’re used to in Europe, and this country is very, very hot…

When it comes to working as a nurse, it took me weeks to understand the routines…they are very different from what I’m used to. Communicating with the patients can be very hard, but we have wardclerks to help us out with the arabic language. But it’s all a great experience, and every day here is a challenge!

Malin