NEWCOMER STORIES

Beatrice Muriithi: Kenya

A photo of a person in blue scrubs with a nametag that says BEATRICE RN standing in a hospital room.

This article originally appeared on quintehealth.ca.

Beatrice Muriithi is an internationally educated critical care nurse from Kenya who arrived to Quinte Health and joined the ICU team in December 2023. She was drawn to Canada for the welcoming environment, strong economy, and opportunities for personal and professional growth for her and her family.

For now, Beatrice’s husband and three daughters have stayed in Kenya and Beatrice misses them dearly, but she is excited for the day when they can join her in Canada. She enjoys Belleville’s quiet, friendly community and hopes her family will too.

“Coming from a developing country, there is a difference in economic advancement between what I was used to back in Kenya and what it is here,” said Beatrice. “I take each day as an opportunity to learn something new.”

And learning she has done! While the fundamentals are the same, nursing in Canada can be different than other countries. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Quinte Health’s Interprofessional Practice team, in conjunction with the specific nursing units, IENs arriving at Quinte Health undergo a comprehensive clinical readiness onboarding process that equips them with essential strategies, best practices, and hands-on learning opportunities within Quinte Health’s simulation lab.

Quinte Health has now hired and onboarded 18 internationally educated workers—17 of them nurses. An additional 14 (12 nurses, an MRT, and a physiotherapist) are still working through the process to get here. They have also been working with the CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses to offer workplace integration programs for both IENs and leaders to facilitate a smooth transition and successful integration into practice.

“Recruiting and supporting internationally trained health care professionals is a win-win solution, said Susan Rowe, Vice President, People and Communications. “Quinte Health and our teams benefit from having additional skilled staff who bring a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and diversity to our team. And the newcomers benefit from moving to the next chapter of their lives and careers in this beautiful region of Ontario, and within an organization that is committed to supporting their success.”