Our Internationally Educated Nurses embark on a tour of Devon

Posted by Devon Partnership Trust in News, Nursing on 23rd May, 2024

Our Deputy Lead Chaplain, Malc Reddaway, has been undertaking a project at Langdon Hospital having 1:1 pastoral conversations with our newly appointed Internationally Educated Nurses. As well as proving helpful to the nurses, the conversations led to some common issues being noted; one of the main ones being the struggle to establish new lives in a completely different culture and new area.

To help with this, Malc asked if the nurses would like a quick tour of South Devon for them to gain a bit of confidence in order to then go out and explore themselves. The answers that came back were a resounding “Yes”. So a few weeks ago, Malc took four IEN’s So a few weeks ago, Malc took four IEN’s (Chinaza, Dorcas, Peter and Enuma) around the area to explore some sights and dip their toes into a little more English culture. 

Malc said: "The day started with a trip to Dartmoor and a brisk walk up to Haytor. For some this proved to be the highlight of the day but there was no time to rest, as it was then off to Buckfast Abbey. As well as touring the grounds, gardens and Abbey itself, this was the first opportunity to try something new; Cornish pasties! With a little reluctance everyone tried a piece of pasty, with thumbs up all around. It was then onto the South Devon Chilli Farm, an unusual choice you might think but some of the nurses had shared their frustration at not being able to buy hot enough chillies. This once again proved to be a great hit and the main shopping experience of the day.

"We then headed for Hope Cove, where the pastime of rolling trousers up and paddling along the shallows was the first activity before sampling a cream tea, whilst overlooking the cove. More local culture was imparted at this point as the differing Devon and Cornish methods of spreading cream and jam was shared.  With the afternoon sun now on its downward trajectory it was off to Dartmouth for a late afternoon stroll along the river Dart, enjoying the many sights and sounds that come at you from every angle. All that was left then was to hop aboard the lower ferry, an experience itself, followed by our final journey back to Dawlish."

Asked what they thought of the day, two of the IEN’s said: “Today was amazing, we visited so many places within a day! This is my best weekend in England so far” and “This is Awesome!”

Each member of the group also said they wanted to go back to the places they had visited and how they now had a desire to explore more of what Devon has to offer. Two more days are already booked with different IEN's having signed up, all that's needed now is for the sun to shine on those days too!