NCLEX, a standardised exam<\/a> required to work as a nurse in the US and Canada.<\/p>\nThe offer of a job came earlier this year but Mills believes she can still make a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe authorities only respect you once you go,\u201d she says of her hospital managers. \u201cWe diaspora nurses have big plans to use our influence to make things better. We are organising ourselves; we want to make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mills is part of a group of more than 1,000 nurses that began as a learning platform on WhatsApp but has since evolved into a support forum for those wanting to migrate. Many feel they have been forced into leaving and there is genuine bitterness and anger towards the system and patients.<\/p>\n
Some recent graduates say they are having to learn processes and procedures on the job that would normally be performed by senior staff. Photograph: Nipah Dennis\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same people we are advocating for don\u2019t do that for us. When we go on strike, they are the same people who insult us. So everyone is on their own now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though hostility towards immigrants is high in the US, Mills is not concerned. \u201cI\u2019m just happy. Even here we face it. Relatives of patients will just come and insult you, so it\u2019s normal. Racism is everywhere. We just have to develop tough skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biding her time: Afua Tetteh, 23, rotation nurse<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes they don\u2019t understand how they\u2019ve taken you through school with the expectation that, when you finish, some of the burden will come off, but you\u2019re still dependent on them for food, transportation and rent,\u201d Afua Tetteh says of her parents. \u201cAnd you\u2019re working. So it just doesn\u2019t make sense to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are about 30 patients on the ward and only two nurses, plus two of us service personnel \u2026 It\u2019s extremely stressful<\/p>\n
Tetteh is part of a cohort of nurses who took to the streets in October to protest over months of unpaid wages, although she did not participate herself, despite her own grievances.<\/p>\n
She had to wait for nine months after graduation before being allocated a hospital placement. Five months later, she has only just been paid, but not in full, despite going to work every day, travelling 13 miles each way on public transport, and returning home late after her shifts.<\/p>\n
Tetteh\u2019s aunt, who is also a nurse, has been instrumental in helping her adapt and stay the course. One of the biggest problems caused by the flight of experienced nurses is that new recruits such as Tetteh have no one to look to for advice and support. They are having to learn processes and procedures on the job that would normally be performed by senior staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are about 30 patients on the ward and only two nurses, plus two of us service personnel and maybe one or two students. It\u2019s extremely stressful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m lucky I have my aunt, so if I have any difficulties I just pick up the phone and call her. When you see the nurses, you realise how tired they are of the entire job. I really don\u2019t want that to be my portion working in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s foreign ministry has signed agreements to send nurses to Jamaica and Grenada, with other countries expressing interest in similar recruitment deals. Photograph: Nipah Dennis<\/p>\n
Age and inexperience prevent Tetteh from leaving Ghana in the short term, so she is facing her immediate future pragmatically. Asked whether she has considered a career change she says that, although it has crossed her mind and some of her peers have abandoned nursing for less stressful jobs, she hopes to stick with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife goes how God wants it to go,\u201d she says, \u201cbut, hopefully, in five years\u2019 time I should have been able to leave the country or maybe have a side-business so I can get my life together and know where I\u2019m headed. Right now, things look very unclear for someone who is starting out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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