A Long Way from 'Home'
That’s it. You’ve arrived. The NCLEX, immigration, Green Card application etc are all behind you. You are a US nurse in America. After all the stresses of the past few months you’ll want to relax. No doubt you will spend the first few months as though you’re on holiday. With all the different places to visit and so many new customs to experience, the holiday feeling tends to remain. I Nursing in the USA requires to obtain some papers and registrations but it doesn’t take too long. In the first instance you’ll miss friends and family, a kind of longing for home doesn’t really occur until your life has calmed and you have a regular routine.
Don’t Get Homesick
When you start nursing in America and have a new home, buy a pay-as-you-go mobile. Now you are easily contactable. You have a number to provide to your family and friends as well as your new American nursing colleagues!. It also helps when you’re arranging official paperwork. Because you have no credit history in the USA, it’s difficult to obtain a pay monthly phone. Knowing that you can text your family and friends any time makes it feel that you’re still in close contact with them. If you buy an international phone card you will be able to make phone calls cheaply, indeed they can be less expensive than making local calls.
Reduce the Distance with Technology
Contemporary technology means that no matter how far you may be, you’re only a phone call, email, text or video chat away. Subscribing to Skype and similar services where phone calls can be made internationally for free or a minimal cost. Talking to relatives via Skype and computer is an easy way of keeping in touch and naturally avoids the problem of having to hang up half way through a conversation. Your relatives get peace of mind. They can get contact you anytime. The use of Internet chat rooms have also become popular and using video chat is a brilliant way of letting far away friends and family see that you’re okay. Buying a laptop means that you can walk around your new environment showing them everything you see. It reduces the thought of not seeing you for months on end and anytime you want to speak ‘face to face’ you can. All you need for this is a wireless capable laptop and a wireless internet connection. In the USA these are extremely affordable. For internet anywhere, you can purchase a wireless internet card that simply plugs into your computer and is connected to a service provider. Simply being able to see someone smile can often alleviate all manner of anxieties.
Your New Home and Home Sickness
Sometimes home sickness occurs as you don’t have familiar things around you. A different culture and local laws can make you feel out of place If you’ve sent over your own furniture and belongings, you should feel more at ease surrounded by things you know. Building and decorating your home again will help you feel more settled and should remove some of the feeling of home sickness. Try to think this way outside your home also and start building up a network of familiar shops, clubs, people and places that you frequent. Develop new social networks for support and friendship. Above all you will find the Americans and particularly the US nurses to be immensely supportive of newcomers
Remember Why You Came
Always try and remember through any periods of home sickness, exactly why you made the move to America. Perhaps it’s the better weather conditions. Perhaps nursing in the USA, be it in critical care, oncology or theatre is just that bit more interesting and challenging than where you were. For many it is the chance to provide a better place for their children to grow up in. Whatever it is that made you emigrate, try and remember this when you’re feeling low. Don’t glorify what you left behind, remember those cold mornings when you had to go out in the rain or snow, or think of the expensive way of life there compared to nursing in the USA. Importantly, ensure you focus on the positives and keep adapting to your new home. Call the USA, your new country of residence ‘home’ as early as possible. Even small changes like this can help to remove any feelings of home sickness. Of course, you may be one of those people who never suffer home sickness at all.
