German nurse hopes to join Trust after unique work experience placement

28 May 2019

A German student nurse is planning to take up a career in the NHS with the Trust which runs Shropshire’s acute hospitals after undertaking six weeks work experience in the county.

Christien Hagen, a third year student nurse, contacted The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) because she wanted to explore the different health systems in the UK and gain an insight of how nurses work on the wards.

In the first placement of its kind, Christien was offered a six week placement on Ward 28 at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. She is now hoping to join SaTH when she qualifies in September.

Christien said: “I had a great opportunity to do my elective placement abroad during my studies. I have been to Shropshire many times before, as my boyfriend lives in Shrewsbury. I immediately fell in love with the town and surrounding countryside, so I knew I wanted to find a placement in Shrewsbury or the surrounding area.

“My boyfriend’s aunty is a nurse at RSH. I already knew some great things about the hospital, so I decided to apply for a work placement with the Trust. The most important question for me was, is this a place I would want to work in the future?

“My boyfriend’s aunty helped me with the application and contacted Donna Clark, the Clinical Placement Facilitator, and Tracy Newbold, Pre-employment Advisor.

“I had a great six weeks. Donna welcomed me on my first day and was very helpful during my stay. The ward I was based on was very lovely. The staff were very interested in the differences of nursing between Germany and UK. The Ward Sisters, Hilly Moore and Pauline James, gave me the chance to experience different wards and made sure that I had a great stay.”

Tracy Newbold from SaTH said: “Christien approached us to explore the opportunity to undertake a work experience placement at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. We were delighted to be able to make this happen and we’re really pleased she enjoyed her experience with us.

“It is now her intention, upon gaining her nursing qualification in September this year, to move to Shrewsbury and gain employment.

“We felt that by offering Christien a work experience placement, she was able to see what SaTH has to offer and to consider joining us when she moves to England later in the year. We have also provided her with relevant points of contact within the organisation to help with the recruitment process moving forward.”