MADRAS, OR -- When St. Charles Madras had difficulty finding experienced Labor And Delivery nurses to fill a number of openings, management took their search global. Deloris Gooden-Martin is one of three nurses from Jamaica who began working in Madras in the spring. She says she took the job so she could expand her skills in an ever-changing field. "Professionals should evolve as the trends in nursing evolve. And then, I started feeling stagnant back home. So, in an effort to learn more and expand my knowledge, I enrolled with a recruiting company and it has brought me here. I was interviewed and accepted and decided to come."
She now lives in Madras with her husband and 7- and 9-year-old boys, and tells KBND there have been some cultural adjustments, "Getting to know the principles, the policies, the procedures and the whole culture of the hospital that I’m at, and the culture of the community that I’m in. But, the transition has been a great one. I was a bit tense coming here, not knowing what to expect – will I be accepted? But, I’m feeling like I belong here; I don’t feel like an outcast."
Gooden-Martin says there are a lot of differences between working in a Jamaican hospital and Madras, including learning new technology that she realizes is available for every patient. But, she says after delivering hundreds of babies in Jamaica, the overall care of expectant mothers is the same. "The most surprising thing to me is the relationship the managers have with lower level staff, that’s sort of different; you don’t have that close relationship with top management and lower level staff. It’s kind of surprising to see how everyone gets along as a family; it’s just like one big family."
The three nurses signed two-year contracts with St. Charles. Gooden-Martin says she would be interested in staying longer, if that were to be extended.
