NHS Scotland Global Citizenship Doing It Well

Section 5 – On Your Return

On your return home it can take time to readjust. Here are some things that can help:

• keep in touch with the people you met while working overseas, especially in your host community. This is good for your emotional resilience and it is also good to build long term partnerships, your hosts will miss you just as much as you miss them!
• share your experiences with friends, family and other NHS Board Champions
• share the work you were involved in on the Health Partnership Map Template so that others can learn from your experience
• it may be a stipulation of your leave or funding that you write a report, try and do this in collaboration with your international partners

Case study: Dr Lesley Crichton, Consultant Anaesthetist – NHS Tayside

Generally, there was a lot of work and admin to do to fit back into our previous lives, and I felt changed as a person, which meant it was harder to slot back into ‘normality’. Professionally, I found it overwhelming at first to be back in a high-income country hospital. The operating theatre in particular felt alien, with so many monitors and bits of equipment, and so much information to process.

It helped to have a gradual return, so that I wasn’t working independently for the first week or so. I was able to remain part of our health partnership both by contributing online and also by returning to visit as often as possible. Getting involved in Scottish global citizenship was also a great way of using the things that I had learned from my time in Zambia, but also of meeting like-minded people. I also think that it’s really important to record the experience somewhere, because it’s amazing how quickly you forget what you did and how you felt. I did this in a variety of ways – I kept a blog whilst in Zambia, and I did a few talks for my colleagues when I returned, which were recorded. I now love looking back at these and reflecting on what an incredible experience it was.

Share your experience and knowledge

On return from your overseas work, you can share your experience and knowledge in the following ways:

• complete the Health Partnership Map Template so you can share your experience and learning with others
• sign up as an NHS Board Champion to link up with other Board Champions
• write a blog or an article for your local NHS Board intranet (ideally ask your hosts to review before publication)
• share your experience through presentations for your colleagues and the Global Citizenship Champions Network
• recognise that it can take time to readjust – talking and networking with other Board Champions can help
• keep in touch with your partner colleagues

Keep thinking globally and acting locally

Reflect on your time overseas on your return to the NHS. How will your experience shape your future and possibly the future of others?