Q - You've extended your contract?  How are you getting on?

I had actually signed up to 2 years anyway but even if you're doing that, you still have to re-contract after the first year.

Q - Was that the right decision to sign 2 years?

I think so, yes.  For my own personal reasons I had things that I wanted to achieve and I can see that, coming up to the first year, I haven't finished what I wanted to finish so it was good that I signed up for 2 years.  I was a bit anxious at the beginning - thinking that maybe I wouldn't like it
and wondering what I would do.  That would mean that I would have to break my 2 years and go but fortunately, it is quite good.

Q - People are very nervous before they go.  For example 2 or 3 weeks before - when the flight information has been confirmed and the Visa has been issued - some people begin to panic a little. Did that happen to you and if so, how did you get over it?  How long did it take to settle down once you got there?

I did panic a bit because there is a lot to do in the last few weeks before you go.  If you have a job and have to resign then there is a lot to work out.  For example, in my case, I had to move out of my flat and find somewhere else to live for the last few days so it was a bit hectic.  I was worried about
giving up those things only to find out that I don't like it there. 
Once I got here, it was quite a big shock I have to say.  Even though the staff at Profco (Mari & Ann) were telling me what to expect, you can't really tell somebody exactly what to expect until you actually get there.

Q - Can you remember your first impressions and tell me what it's really like?  What would you say about King Faisal to a nurse who is thinking about going?

King Faisal is actually quite a big institution - it's much bigger than I thought it was and it's still growing!  They are receiving referrals from other hospitals so we get to deal with more complex cases that need more specialist care.  Unlike other places, when the other places are quiet, we are not because there's always something going on.  Having said that, I can't speak for
other places, but I think that we are more looked after than in most other places.  

Q - If you can remember, tell me about when you arrived?  The meet and greet, the afternoon tea etc.

The woman I travelled with came from Ireland, we met at Heathrow.  We travelled together which was very nice. Many nurses arrive on their own its not a problem.  We arrived at the airport and one of the senior nurses and somebody from the Public Relations department came to meet us at the airport.  There were 3 of us arriving from Heathrow as there was another guy from Scotland.  They took us each to our accommodation - they actually show you your room, show you what is yours, the crockery, the linen, the food, how to use all the appliances - and then they give you the key and they give you a number of somebody to call if there's anything else you want to know about what to do in the housing department.  Then they told us where to go to the afternoon tea - obviously that didn't even make sense at the time because I didn't even know where I was!  I
was lucky because I came at the same time as one girl who was coming from New Zealand and we were sharing the accommodation - so that was really good because we went through the whole adjusting thing together.  So we went out in the afternoon for the afternoon tea.  The afternoon tea is
just all about telling us what the orientation programme is going to be about, what time we're going to be starting and what they expect us to bring the following morning.  It's quite good because then you know whtat your first week of orientation is going to be about.  I don't know about other places
but there are ten days of orientation and at first I couldn't believe it but we really needed every minute of it because they go through everything like the Saudi culture, what King Faisal is all about and what you, as a nurse, are expected to do.  Every little thing - even things like where to go shopping and what to do if you want to go shopping and what not to do when you go out - all thos little things.  We didn't know that we would learn so much in those first ten days! That was the first day with afternoon tea - then we went back to our accommodation.  The following day, we came back and then we had one person who is in charge of the whole orientation programme - it's just the general orientation - he takes you to security for ID badges, to Human resouces  for all your paperwork and then  he takes you to fingerprinting thing, then he takes you to one of the malls to show you what they look like and where to buy your food, the hospital tour - and this makes up the first 3 days.  Then from day 4 onwards - we were divided into groups - the nurses, the doctors, etc - and we continued with our specific orientation.  We started to learn about each unit, what each unit is doing, what you will be expected to do when you get to your unit.  We were introduced to our clinical instructors, our perceptor and everything,  In those next 7 days, we were in and out of the orientation class, because we went to our unit as well, to meet our clinical instructor and preceptor then we went
back for more classes.  There is a lot to learn because then you have to do all the pharmacology and studies in my case because we were in the speciality critical areas - recovery and ICU - we had to do the ECG - which was quite a test! - because you have to do it in detail, and write and pass the exam, as well as the pharmacology exam.  After the ten days, we went to our unit and started getting our hands on in our unit.

Q - You worked 7 to 11 shifts with a mentor or perceptor in the ward area.  It's probably a little different in theatres, is it not?

Yes.  It doesn't work the same.  It depends on how quickly you grasp things.  Possibly 3 or 4 weeks.

Q - What about the ward based orientation?

The first time you come, they give you a folder.  In this folder there is all the procedures that you are supposed to learn or check your competency on those procedures.  You learn everything about the unit - the layout, how they do things - things are a bit different because they use the American
system.  For people like me, coming from England, it was a bit different. 
They take you through the whole process and there is a clinical instructor for the particular unit, who comes and goes through everything with you and your perceptor of what she expects you to know at least by 7 days, 14 days, 21 days so you have some targets to meet.  Obviously, during that
time, if there is something that you haven't really been exposed to before, you make that clear so that they teach you and go though everything with you together and then they check to see if you really have learned it after a week or 2.  Step by step you work with your perceptor, she shows you
how they enter everything on the computer and help you to get access to the computer and they use the Pixus system for the medications, so you have to go through the whole thing to know what is in the Pixus and how you can get it out and how you check everything.  During your probation period (3 months) if you have learned in 4 weeks, then you don't have to work with your perceptor, you can just ask for help when you need help but obviously you are still on probation.  So in the 3 months, the clinical instructor will check you off through each and every procedure - she will come
and check to see if you are competent enough - and sign it.  You keep all those things in your file because at the end of your probation when you go and meet your head nurse - in our unit, the head nurse met with us at least once a week throughout your probation period along with your perceptor
to check how things are going and find out if there is anything else you would like to know - they were very good, even with things like housing, because you have come and shared with somebody you don't even know and maybe you have a request to be moved and they are really good at helping you to get through to the housing department to help you with that.  At the end of the 3 months, you go and meet with your head nurse, with everything that has been checked by the clinical instructor -
and has been signed by you and your perceptor - that you are now competent and she goes througgh everything with you and asked questions about some of the procedures and the unit and everything else about settling as a whole in Saudi Arabia.  If she is happy with everything and you
are happy with everything then she signs the 90 day evaluation form and after that, you know that you are free to take your holidays.  In the probation period, you cannot take any holidays or leave the kingdom - you can go around the kingdom but you cannot leave.

Q - Can't you go to Dubai or somewhere like that on your days off?

No, not in the first 3 months.  I'm not sure about other hospitals but not at King Faisal.  You can go anywhere within the Kingdom because you need a Visa for re-entry and they don't issue that within the first 3 months.  Although, I can only speak for my unit.  Of course, it's different for emergencies.

Q - About your shift patterns for theatre? Are you doing 12.5 hour shifts or are you doing something different?

We do 11.5 hours shifts but we are doing different because we have to cover the department.  It's like other departments where they have nights and days.  In the departments where they have nights and days, the day staff start at 7 and finish at 7.30.  The night staff would come in at 7 to take the
handover and the day staff goes off at 7.  It's the same thing with the night staff in the morning that day staff come at 7.

Q - In Faisal, in ward areas, they have the Team A and B system.  If you're working the weekends, say you work Wed, Thu, Fri you are off Sat and Sun and work Mon,Tue and then off the opposite. Does it really happen like that?

Yes - that's how it happens.

Q - Theatre is always different - you can't really change how you work as a scrub or circulatory nurse very much from one country to another.  Is that right?  What can be different? You did mention that some things can be different to the UK, can you give me some examples?

I'm in recovery so I don't have much to do with inside the theatres.  The only thing was that they do more paediatric work and the children are quite sick.  The only thing that was different was how you can't do most of the things.  Most things have to be referred to the surgeon.  The surgeon takes
decisions on everything - even pain control.  In England, if your patient has pain in recovery - you always refer to the anaesthetist.  The anaesthetist is in charge of everything to do with pain.  Here, the surgeon decides whether the patient will have an epidural or not so I found that very strange.  I still find it difficult because I pick up the phone and call the anaesthetist and he says he has nothing to do with that.  That's a little confusing and frustrating at times because then you have a patient and you need to talk to somebody and if the surgeon is doing a 3 hour case, you are stuck with a patient
who is frustrated.  Another thing that I found frustrating is how in England, everything is now. When you ask the question 'When?' How long do you think it's going to take?' - you know they're going to tell you 2,3 days or 2 hours or 1 hour. Inshallah!

Q - What is Riyadh really like?

I thought that Riyadh was really this horrible and hardcore - as far as the culture and religion is concerned - every time I told people I was going to Riyadh they were really shocked thought I was brave so that was my main worry.It's not at all!  I haven't found anything that I think is really drastic

When I got here, obviously in the first week you don't see much because you are in the hospital. You don't really go anywhere - it's just home, orientation, home, orientation, home!  When we went out the first weekend, me and my roommate were really nervous about the whole thing.We were expecting to see the  religious police everywhere but even when they do approach you to tell you to cover your head- because you don't have to cover your head but we always have our scarves with us just in case- they just tell you to please cover your head.   I thought they would be carrying sticks or something!  Sometimes you don't even see them - in all the time I've been here since January, I've probably been told maybe twice to cover my head and even then, very politely.  I think they are becoming very relaxed because they are really becoming soft, if I may say.  They do understand that people that come here are not all used to the whole culture so they as not as bad as I thought they would be.  And there is a lot to do in Riyadh if you want to go out and do things.  It's a big city.  So if you are the person who wants to go out and do things, there are things to do and there are trips organised by the social club like weekend trips to the desert and going to other places like Medina etc.  I have not been to those places but I am hoping to go next year.  It was quite nice because I thought it was just going to be like going to work and coming back.

Q -   Can you tell me a little about the shopping?

Oh!  The shopping!!!  The shopping is just great, wonderful!  I went to Jeddah and they mentioned maybe 3 malls.  I live in the city and can
go to the mall every 10 minutes if I want to!  There are so many malls - so many malls that I haven't been to in Riyadh because there's just so many of them and there is just so much variety in everything.  Clothes, housewear, furniture, everything!

Q - How do you save money with all those temptations?

It is hard!  You have to be disciplined.  My friend told me that the best thing to do is to have a certain amount that you resolve to send home every month.  If you don't do that, you spend it!  So when you get paid, you know that this amount is going straight to your account at home and you
know that what is left is for you. 

Q - Can you do overtime?

There is a lot of overtime too because there is always some new department, because King Faisal is expanding, so you can go around the other departments doing overtime.  I haven't done that much
overtime because first you have to do competancies, paediatric, advanced cardiac life support and all those things and then you start doing calls.  And the calls are quite busy.  Most of the time you get called out if you are busy.  If you are on call for the weekend, you find yourself working on the Thursday and on the Friday because it can be quite busy.  There is enough people.  You don't feel stressed out because you're not stretched out - there is enough staff to cover the department so that is good.
Overtime is there if people want to do it.  You can work, work, work, work.

Q - Everybody thinks it's going to be really hard to send their money home.  Could you just tell me about the internet banking etc?

It's so easy!  What you do is - there is a bank in the hospital and there's aTM's all over the hospital - when you have opened your account (which you do during your orientation and they help you with that) you can go to the bank afterwards and tell them that you now want to have so many
beneficiaries on your account - eg family members.  You give them the bank details and they add it to your profile and once you've done that they take you through every step.  You can transfer your money online or you can to any of the ATM's and do it there.  That's it.  It takes 24 hours!  My
money is always in my NatWest account the following day.

Q - Is there anything that we (Profco) could have done better?

No - everything was ok. I have to say, you really were good.  I met girls coming from other agencies and they were going through a really difficult time because there seemed to be so many things that their agencies didn't tell them and they had come here and running around trying to get things done.  I have to say you had made sure I had all the necessary paperwork with me and I am very thankful for that

I can recommend Profco and working at KFSH & Rc Riyadh.