Emily Bishop is a young American woman who lived and worked in the country of Saudi Arabia as an experienced registered nurse in 2022. Her experience in Saudi was brief as she completed a locum tenens, which is a temporary contract opportunity known in the healthcare industry for physicians and other healthcare professionals to help fill gaps or cover for when permanent staff are usually absent. However brief, Emily’s experience left a positive lasting impression on her and fueled an already strong desire to explore the world.
Emily has always had a big passion for the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia. She’s always been intrigued by Muslim culture. It's hard to describe why, but she got back from a year long mission’s trip and had desired to return ever since. She heard certain things about the country's politics and oppression towards women, but she wanted to see it for herself. After being inspired by someone she met who had worked in the region, she set out to find an opportunity to do the same.
“The people I met were incredible. They made Saudi so much fun for me.”
Emily would find that opportunity through working with Adilstone Group. “The people I met were incredible. They made Saudi so much fun for me.” The opportunity would come when she got connected to Adilstone Group who would help her to receive a nursing position at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah.
“Language was a bigger barrier than I was initially led to believe.” Emily had taken an Arabic course on a popular app and when she arrived in Saudi Arabia she felt she had a good baseline, but the dialect was so different it felt like she was starting from ground zero. “It was rough communicating with patients at first. I would watch and listen to my coworkers talking and see what words she could pick out.” While the official language of medicine in Saudi Arabia is English, the experience of providing care to individuals who only spoke Arabic would mean Emily had to overcome the challenges of the language barrier to provide the best care she could. By the time Emily was finished, she would be able to have some conversation in Arabic with her patients and coworkers.
“Language was a bigger barrier than I was initially led to believe.”
Emily described feeling safe and free in Saudi Arabia. She got emotional when it was time to leave. Saudi opened her eyes to how much she liked the idea of exploring the world. “I developed this thirst for being in other countries and it set me on a trajectory of where I could travel to next.” Emily is an example of what it means to put yourself out in the world and be open to new experiences. So what’s next? Emily is in the middle of finalizing an amazing opportunity to live and work in Australia as a registered nurse.
Comments