Heartbeat: From Iraq to Birmingham – Bnar’s nursing journey

July 26, 2021

Over the next few issues of Heartbeat we will feature inspiring stories of colleagues who are part of the SWB family through the Healthcare Overseas Professionals (HOP) programme.

The programme supports people from overseas (who are qualified healthcare professionals in their own home countries) to get back into clinical practice. These colleagues are required to pass either the International English Language Test or the Occupational English test before they take their professional exams.

In this issue we meet 35 year old mom of two, Bnar Osman.

She told Heartbeat: “I came to the UK in 2008 after completing a nursing degree in Iraq (Kurdistan). At the time my husband was already in the UK and had been running his own business since 2005.

“When I arrived I hardly knew any English – so you can imagine how difficult things were for me. But then the children came along and brought me so much joy so I decided to study English in the hope of fulfilling my dream of becoming a nurse.

“I heard about the HOP programme through the Brushstrokes community project. When I learned of the scheme I knew it would help change my life. The team gave me the belief I needed to realise that anything is possible and to never give up.

“With the support of HOP, I attended an open day at the Trust in 2019 with the hope of securing a job as a nurse. I was interviewed on the day but because I didn’t have NMC registration at the time, I was advised to apply for a healthcare assistant (HCA) role instead.

“I was really delighted to be given such a wonderful opportunity. The HOP team worked very hard to help me achieve this success. I was so nervous thinking this is never going to happen and that I will never work for the NHS, but the programme kept me focused and I stayed positive.

“Currently, I am working as a HCA at City hospital. Working as a HCA has helped me so much and I am learning more about the UK culture and I’m improving my English too!

“I enjoy my job so much; the team are very supportive, all my patients and colleagues are very happy with me. When I received the position it was Band 2 HCA, now I am going to do some training to move to Band 3 HCA. This job can help me pass my Occupational English Test meaning I will be able to work as a qualified nurse in the UK.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity.”