Two Nigerian nurses have been enjoying learning some well-known Dundonian words and phrases during their first year working at the city’s Ninewells Hospital.
Samuel Kayode and Omotayo Aloyah were among the first international nurses to join NHS Tayside through a Scottish Government initiative to recruit nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (AHPs) from overseas.
And they reveal it has been an educational experience in more ways than one.
Samuel, 25, explained: “I remember being at the hospital at around 4pm and someone asked me what was I having for my tea that evening.
“I was thinking about your normal tea or coffee.
“But I am understanding that when talking about tea here it can mean your lunch or it can also mean your dinner!”
Samuel said his colleagues have also been teaching him Scottish phrases like ‘ah dinnae ken’.
Omotayo, 31, added: “The first one I picked up on was ‘a wee bit’. Like ‘a wee bit of sugar’.
“I said to my colleagues: ‘she says she wants a wee bit, what is she talking about?’ They laughed and explained it means little.
“Another phrase was ‘it’s no bother’ and I was like ‘what is no bother?’
“I learned it means ‘it’s okay or no problem’, something like that.”
What attracted the Nigerian nurses to Dundee?
Samuel revealed what attracted him to Dundee.
“Since I started planning my relocation to the UK, I have always wanted to come to Scotland.
“I saw a job advert for NHS Tayside and I went to look it up. I saw NHS Tayside has one of the major trauma centres in Scotland at Ninewells Hospital.
“So I decided to apply for the job and got the position as a theatre nurse.”
Omotayo also applied for a role at NHS Tayside as she was looking for a ‘new challenge’.
And when she was offered a role in the respiratory ward, she accepted it.
She came over to Scotland with her husband, David, and two sons Daniel, 4, and Joel, 2.
Back home, her husband worked as a medical doctor but currently, he is not employed with the NHS because he is still working towards his GMC registration.
She said: “This past year has been a whole new experience for me.
“Back home in Nigeria I worked at Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, as a senior nursing officer in different units, with ICU (intensive care unit) being the most recent.
“Coming over to work in a respiratory ward is more related to what I am used to.
“I have been able to settle in well with help from my senior charge nurses.”
Differences between working in Nigeria and Scotland
Back in Nigeria, Samuel worked at Cedarcrest Hospitals where he was employed as an orthopedic specialist nurse.
This involved him working in orthopaedic clinics, theatres and wards.
He explained the difference between working back home and working at Ninewells.
“At Cedarcrest hospitals they do more orthopaedic surgeries and it is a private hospital so there are more paying patients,” he said.
“The workload there is a bit less because it is a private hospital compared to the NHS.
“Here at Ninewells most of the patients coming in are trauma cases.”
‘A wonderful experience in Dundee’
Samuel, who came over to Scotland on his own, is also currently undergoing a degree programme in nursing with Napier University Edinburgh.
He continued: “So far I have really enjoyed working in Ninewells.
“I have learned a lot of new skills including how to use different instruments.
“I like working with the members of staff and the charge nurses have been very helpful.
“It has been a wonderful experience this first year and getting to know more about Dundee.”
Omotayo said one of the big differences she has found between working back in Nigeria and at Ninewells, is how patients are discharged from hospital.
She said at the Federal Medical Centre the patient takes responsibility for their own discharge as they have to pay for their own care.
She said the patient’s relatives decide where the patient is discharged to and how they get their medications.
Whereas here, she said the onus is on the nurse to arrange a suitable care package through social work and this was one of the things she had to learn.
The pair, who didn’t know each other before taking up posts at NHS Tayside, said there have also been big differences in culture to adapt to.
Omotayo said: “The cultural differences were a bit of a shock to me.
“I have been a bit confused at times because there are some things you do back home but when you do it here, it means something different.
“For example, the way you address an elderly person is different here, compared to Nigeria.
“Back home if I need to address somebody who is older than me, I will call them by their title – ie Mr or Ma’am.
“Yet here when I have asked a patient what do they want me to call them, they have said ‘call me by my first name or a nickname’.
“Culturally, to me, this is disrespectful.
“So initially I struggled with it. But because this is what my patients want, this is what I have tried to do.”
What did the nurses do for Christmas?
Outside of work, Omotayo has enjoyed shopping in Dundee while Samuel has visited the V&A, which he really enjoyed.
Samuel had Christmas Day and Boxing Day off and spent it with a friend in Glasgow.
While Omotoyo was working dayshift at Ninewells both days.
As part of the international induction programme, NHS Tayside provided a package of support to the new recruits.
This included short-term accommodation, orientation, an education programme and assistance with their professional registration.
Both Samuel and Omotayo are contracted to work at NHS Tayside through the programme until 2025.
Conversation