U.S. Healthcare Facility Showcase: Mercy Hospital South in Missouri
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be listening from! Welcome to Onwards and Upwards, where we cover everything an international healthcare worker needs to know about living and working in the U.S. Thank you for joining. My name is Deirdre O'Regan, and I will be your host today. I am the Senior Director of Recruitment at AMN Healthcare International.
I missed you all last week—I was on vacation, visiting family in Ireland, which I greatly enjoyed. The weather didn't cooperate; it was raining the entire time, but it was wonderful to spend quality time with family. We have a great show today with some fantastic guests who will tell us all about the amazing Mercy Health System, focusing on one particular campus: Mercy South in St. Louis, Missouri.
We’re joined by the Mercy South leadership team, who I'll introduce shortly. They’ll share what it’s like to live and work in the beautiful city of St. Louis, Missouri. You’ll learn about the onboarding process at Mercy South and the incredible opportunities available. We’re also thrilled to have one of our international nurses working at Mercy South, joining us to talk about her experience—from the initial recruitment stage to living her American dream.
Before we dive in, let's look at our success path. Many of you are familiar with this—it all starts with that all-important NCLEX exam. If you’re on this call today, have passed your NCLEX, and are working in an acute care setting, we want to hear from you. Please apply at amnhealthcare.com/International. Our recruitment team is ready to assist.
After passing NCLEX, our team will guide you through immigration, licensing, credentialing, relocation, and preparation for your orientation at your facility. Then, like our guest nurse Thiri will share, you’ll be living your American dream.
I love seeing where everyone is calling in from, so please let us know! I see Mandy from South Africa, Doris from Ghana—welcome! We also have attendees from Abu Dhabi and the Philippines. We’re excited to share insights about the Mercy Health System, especially Mercy South.
Now, without further ado, let’s welcome our esteemed guests. Today, we’re joined by Leah Jansen, Mark McAteer, and Nurse Thiri, who is experiencing some technical issues but will join us shortly. Leah Jansen is the Executive Director of Critical Care, and Mark McAteer is the Executive Director of Medical-Surgical Services. I’ll hand it over to Leah for a brief introduction, followed by Mark. Over to you, Leah!
Hi everybody. Good morning. My name is Leah Jansen. I'm the executive director for critical care here at Mercy Hospital South in St Louis, Missouri.
We have on our team a couple ICUs step downs dialysis and a Clinical Decision Unit and a wonderful team of leaders and international nurses are on our team as well.
Thank you, Leah! We appreciate you taking the time to speak with our audience today. The Mercy Health System is dear to us at AMN, and we’re fortunate to collaborate with such incredible leaders and international nurses.
Wonderful thank you so much, Leah, and we truly appreciate all of you taking the time to talk to our to talk to our guests today, to talk to our audience. I love hearing about a particularly Mercy Health System. We have worked together for many, many years, very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these amazing leaders and, of course, our international nurses as well.
Mark, could you introduce yourself?
Yeah so my name is Mark Mcateer I'm the Executive Director of the med surg service line. In that service line, we have oncology, neurology, our general surgery, surgical recovery. So many options. Again, as Leah said, a lot of great leaders, a lot of great international nurses. So we always look forward to having our international we've built a pretty great team around supporting them and getting them where they want to go. So thanks for having me and appreciate you being with us.
Thank you so much Mark I appreciate it. Thank you. Thiri, do you like to give a brief introduction to our audience?
Hi Thiri I'm currently working in mercy South surgical step down unit. We basically handles, like, a lot of surgical cases, but sometimes we do have overflow cases from other disciplines as well. And in my like floor, I do works with a lot of international nurses, and it was like very, very exciting and very friendly environment to walk with. And yeah, thank you for having me here today.
Thank you for joining and we're excited to hear about your experience working at Mercy south with these alongside these amazing leaders who are joining us today. So Thiri, let's start with you. Why did you decide to become a nurse in the US?
Okay, so from the start, I was originally from Burma. Then I study and worked in Singapore for like, 14 years. So I have been a nurse for 14 years, and I have, like, research, I read a lot about nurses, and I'm sure, like the nurses in you has have a lot of autonomy, authority, and a lot of things that can be done as a nurse, rather than the bedside nursing's. And, you know, just like, carry off the patients, cleaning up and stuff. So it's one of the reasons to have, yeah, to live American dreams as well.
It's amazing and I know that everybody on this call today is either in the process of starting their American dream. They may be in the middle of it, or they may already have done it. So thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I know that it's going to be very helpful to all of our listeners in either making that initial decision or keeping them motivated.
Right now, we're in retrogression, we know, and so you are a testament of, if you just, if you just have patience, continue to stay motivated, it will work out for you.
So, Mark, can you tell us a little bit about where in the US is Missouri located, for our listeners who are not quite sure?
Yes! We're located in the Midwest, so kind of the central part of the United States. We border Illinois. I personally live in Illinois. I drive to Missouri, so you can kind of get a feeling for how close we are.
Right in the center of the United States, wonderful, and we hear that a lot, right? So if, if you're interested in going to a particular location, a particular state, the beauty of the United States is that in many years, there's many bordering cities and states that you can actually probably commute to faster than if you are actually living in that location.
We heard that as well. We know that one of our team members actually works in Dallas but lives in Oklahoma City, and does that commute. So just very interesting. Make sure that you're doing your research on locations and the proximity to the area that that you are interested in.
Leah, can you talk to us a little bit about what attractions are there in Missouri? Maybe the top two or three that you would recommend to our audience?
In Missouri, we have the St Louis Arch. We're the gateway to the west, and St Louis has done a really good job of updating those arch grounds. Down by the arch, there's a picture of it somewhere, yep. And there's a botanical gardens that's on the picture there, the St Louis Cathedral. Those are really good attractions.
There is also the history museum, well, Science Center, the brewery, the fox. There's just so much to do. If you're bringing kids with you, or spouses or partners, there's so much to do down at St Louis Union Station, there's a big ferris wheel and an ice cream shop, and there's all kinds of stuff down there. And they make it a really good, fun time of year, around Christmas, and they decorate it, and they have the Polar Express and a bunch of Christmas lights too. So there's tons to do.
Oh wow, I'm marking my calendar for holiday time. Go see that big my favorite time of the year. And you know, just love to see the festivities and all that great stuff. So thank you so much.
Thiri, can you tell us a little bit about where you're currently living and what you like to do there? What's your favorite thing?
Okay, I'm currently living down in St Louis, so it's where the great arch is located. So apparently I just went to the Grands farm, like last week, because I love horses, and I saw the clay still there. They are really awesome. They were really awesome. And another thing My favorite was, I think last month, there was a Shakespeare in the Glen. So it was a new experience to me. Like the Shakespeare shows were like free and it was in the like open theater in the Forest Park. It was a very good experience for me as well.
Wonderful. Okay, thank you. Yeah, the Clydesdales at every Super Bowl, that's one of my favorite commercials. Right? When the Clydesdales, it's, I think that it's everybody's favorite commercial. But to see that in person, much must be they're huge. I'm sure they are. I'm sure they are, but what a great experience for you to have seen that in person. Thiri. Mark, can you tell us a little bit about the cost of living in Missouri?
Yeah, sure. So comparable to the United States, we're in the lowest cost of living areas across the nation. The Midwest tends to be the lower cost areas. But if you're talking, if you want to get more specific, around the St Louis area, kind of the closer you get to the St Louis City, you might pay a little more. But there's a different a lot of different towns around St Louis that are easy to commute to. So when you are looking for housing, do your research. Getting as close to the hospital is not always the most ideal, and being super far away from the hospital can get kind of expensive too. So really look into what, what areas you're looking at, because the cost of living does vary as far as living expenses for those different options. But in general, gas living expenses were one of the lowest in the nation.
Perfect. Thank you and I know that that's a key decision maker for all of our nurses, is looking at how much is, again, theories, nodding her head, absolutely. Those are things that, especially if you're bringing a family, are very important to consider. You know, they're the beauty of the US is that it's got major metropolitan areas, and it also has your more rural areas and everything in between, right? So it's really important that when you're making a decision that you are really factoring in the expenses, the housing costs, food costs, childcare, all of those things are going to be very important. And while you may want to live in a large city, just understand that that's going to cost you more. And sometimes those smaller cities, those smaller locations, particularly when you're starting off, are probably going to be the better option for you, but that's why you want to work with an organization like AMN Healthcare International, is because we're going to help guide you in making that right decision.
I know you all know this, but you know we are the only organization that offers both direct and staffing, and so we want to help you make the right decision for you and your family. And you know, there are 50 states, so we want to make sure that that you are making the right decision, and that when you do arrive here in the US, just like Thiri, that you are thriving and prospering. And I'm sure that Thiri was looking at other opportunities, and we'll get to why she chose mercy south here in in a little bit. But just I would, I would encourage you all to be open to do your research, and if you are looking to get your I 140 filed in 30 days or less, our staffing opportunities are going to be a great option for you, which is what our mercy South opportunities are. So Thiri, one of the things that we are always asked, and I'm sure you asked the same before you made your decision is talk to us a little bit about the weather. Oh, okay, the weather here. When I reach here in February, it was cold and chilly, but like at this timing, it's kind of hot and humid. But from what I research and from what my friend said it's getting cooler, like, at the like, mid to end of September, so you can, like, and I was told that during the fall the city, I mean, like, the place is really awesome and beautiful.
So, like, I can't wait for it. So it's one of the reasons why I come here, is that I. Enjoy all the four seasons, but not much snow. So it's not going to be hard for me. I came from the tropical country, which is hot, so I don't think I'm ready for the light snows and cold right there yet. So this is the best place for me so far. Yeah, perfect. So you're so you get to witness the four seasons, which is beautiful, right? So you have, you have the fall, I know that that's one of everybody's favorite seasons, is that you get to see the leaves change and the colors and all that beautiful stuff. So sounds like, sounds like you acclimated pretty well to the climate and the weather, and coming from a tropical country, that that's not always easy, but it sounds like this is the perfect location for you. It doesn't have extremes, right? So great. Thank you so much. And you can always bundle up for the cold, right? So jackets, whatever that may be. So thank you Thiri, Leah, can you give us a brief overview of the Mercy Health System? I know today we're focusing on mercy south and the amazing opportunities that we have there. But I'm sure the audience would be interested in just a brief overview of the Mercy Health System in general.
Yeah, I sure can. But before I do that, I have to share a story about one of our international nurses. She was on one of the cardiac step downs, speaking about the weather, and it was starting to get cooler. It was over the winter. This nurse was also from a tropical climate before she came to St Louis, and she had never seen snow before. And at the end of one of our hallways, there's this really large picture window that's like, the size of the entire like floor to ceiling, and she was standing in front of it during the middle of her day, and it started snowing, and she just started sobbing because she has never know before. So the team rallied around her, and, you know, got her all bundled up and watched her patients for her and whisper outside so she could feel the snow and see it. And that part was really magical.
So I'll always remember that. So thank you for sharing that, Leah, and you know you don't know how many times that we hear stories like that from our international nurses who are working in the Mercy Health System, it truly is you have created an international community that is like family. And I know that when we have the opportunity to go on site and meet our international nurses there in person, and of course, the leadership team, we come away with just the most warm feeling. They are so happy. They're so connected. And it truly is just a testament of the program that you all have built in the Mercy Health System and I know that our international nurses, once they once they go there, they, they certainly do thrive and live the American dream like Thiri is a testament of today. So thank you for thank you for sharing that we love when, when we get to hear great stories like that. But I'll give it back to Leah, just to give us a brief overview of the Mercy Health System.
Yeah. So we have over 40 hospitals and acute care facilities now, I think over 40,000 employees, 42,000 look at that. Okay, 44 hospitals wonderful. We're kind of spread across the Midwest, and we are ever growing. We are the seventh largest Catholic healthcare system in the United States, and it's also a non for profit system as well. So we keep expanding and growing and creating our footprint across the Midwest. Wonderful thank you so much, Leah. And you know, just like we have international nurses who are tuning in to us today to hear this wonderful information, we also have some internal team members. And I do want to read out one of the comments that one of our internal team members. Kim Spellman, I know that many of you on this call probably have spoken to Kim at some point, but Kim said, I love Mercy Health this team forever wraps their arms around our international health care providers. You have created such a welcoming, safe place for them to start their lives and practice here in the US.
Thank you for all you do. I could not have said that better than Kim. So thank you Kim. Kim is a master of words, and I know that many of our international clinicians who are fortunate enough to be able to work with Kim truly and appreciate her. So thank you so much, Kim. Mark, so we talked about Missouri and where it's located. Can you talk to us a little bit about where mercy South is located? Yeah, so we're located in South County. We're about 20 minutes from downtown St Louis, so very close to everything, really. So it mercy south has that small town feel, but we're a large hospital, and we see. Everything. So, you know, I think one of the benefits of working here is you get that, I know this sounds kind of lame or cheesy, but you get that great parking which is important a lot of us. But also you get a really high level, high functioning hospital that has a community of international nurses that we truly support and we want to grow. So it's just a great area to work in, a lot of things going on, but you're close to everything. Everything's very easily accessible, and there's so much to learn here. So just an overall great place to work.
Perfect. Thank you so much. Mark and Leah, Can we touch a little bit about awards that the Mercy Health System has achieved. Yeah, sure. No problem. We are maybe most proud, almost most proud. We are a comprehensive stroke center, which is the advanced level of accreditation for comprehensive stroke we're one of the few hospitals in the area that has it. So our stroke and neuro programs are expanding and incredibly established. We're level two trauma level one, STEMI, we do have AACN Gold Beacon Award for Clinical Excellence and patient experience in one of our ICUs we're very proud of that. We are going to engage into a pathways of excellence program this coming year, moving forward, a CBR Joint Commission, accredited and the gold seal of approval there the HA, get with the Guidelines. We do have heart failure, gold, and then we are leapfrog Grade A, which is a huge testament to our clinical excellence in patient experience.
Wonderful. Thank you so much. Leah, so lots of great awards achieved by this very prestigious health system. And so those are the things that you want to look at when you're choosing where you want to start your life, here in in the US. And this is an amazing opportunity to work with these amazing leaders, not just Leah and Mark, but across the entire organization. Just like we said, they've built an international community that is like family. So it's your home away from home, and you want to make sure that you are applying today, if you have not already, we'll put up that handle again amnhealthcare.com/International. Again, are, we are the only organization that provides both staffing and direct hire opportunities. And advice to you is, if you want your I 145 quickly, I would be looking into our staffing opportunities of which mercy is one, and we will, we look forward to helping you expedite your application to the Mercy south campus so our International nurses Mark have many opportunities. And why? Why should, in your opinion, should they choose mercy South if given the opportunity to do so? Yeah, and you're right, in the St Louis area, there's a lot of different opportunities, couple different health systems, but and many of us have experienced those health systems and have found our home here.
So what we offer here. We're a faith based organization. We're a community hospital. I think one of the great things that I learned when I when I arrived a couple years ago was, you know, our president, Sean Hogan, he doesn't live too far from here, nor do any of my co workers, of the people that we treat, the people that we're treating in this hospital, are our neighbors, are our friends, our community, people we see at church, people we see on the weekends, so you really have that true feeling of passionate care. So that was always important for me. And kind of, like I said before, we've grown an international community here. We've gotten really good about onboarding international nurses and making sure that they're not just within the hospital, that they're successful, but outside the hospital, what's their living situation? Are they getting child care education? So really, that's a great reason to work here. We've kind of set up a whole functioning system to help support international nurses, but also in a community hospital that's very, very busy.
Wonderful. Thank you, Mark. We've got a lot of questions coming through in the chat. This one is for Leah. And so Leah your critical care unit in terms of your patient's profile. Example, is it a cardiac ICU? What kind of ICUs are there? Great question. Thank you to whoever put that in the chat. Are we have several ICUs? We have a CBI. So cardiovascular ICU. We have a cardiac medical ICU, so that's part of our CBI, and then we have a neurotrauma ICU, perfect. So thank you so much for asking that question. Any other questions, please make sure that you are popping them into the chat. So once you submit your application, let me just tell you a little bit about the process. Once you submit your application, it is reviewed by or recruiters to ensure that it meets the qualifications of what the Mercy South team is looking for. If it does, then our clinical team will review and approve that, and we will submit to the Mercy hiring team. So the it may take a little bit of time to facilitate some interviews, but then you do interview with the hiring leaders. It may be with Leah, maybe with Mark.
It may be with another hiring leader at the mercy South Campus. And then if it's a good match, if your experience matches what the Mercy South team is looking for, then we will go ahead and get that process for you and start your immigration process. Thiri, so going back to when you with AMN Healthcare International and started your process and began interviewing with us facilities. Why did you choose mercy south?
Okay, I got, like, a few first interview, but I chose mercy because whenever I get the interview, for me personally, like, I will Google it. I will do some research, what kind of organization it is, how big the hospital is. So like when I research, I mean, other awards that Leah mentioned showed up, and it was so impressive to me. And for me personally, I don't want to work in a small hospital, like by walking at the hospitals, like with a lot of facilities I can, like, enhance my experiences as well. So it's the reasons why I chose mercy
Perfect. Thank you so very much. So sounds like you had other opportunities and that were presented to you and you chose mercy. And sounds like you are thriving there, having a lot of fun, and loving the seasons, loving the Clydesdales, all that great stuff and but, but that's wonderful. You know? I think that that's really important, that you may be presented with enough with a number of different opportunities, which is really important to do your research, work with your recruitment team, and work with your support team here at AMN Healthcare International to make sure that you're making the right decision. You certainly made the right decision in choosing mercy south, wonderful place to be. And so thank you for that Thiri appreciate it I can't see that. Yes absolutely and you'll it, you'll probably stay, you know, I mean, that is, it's a beautiful, beautiful place to be. And it sounds like you're doing amazing at work, and have created, I'm sure that you've made many friends working there at Mercy south as well, because they're so welcoming. And had, I'm sure they make you feel right at home, and so a Leah, why? Why did you choose to work with AMN Healthcare International to recruit international nurses, and what has your experience been?
Yeah I mean, overall, my experience, our experience, I think I can say, has been very positive. You know, Mark mentioned our president, Sean Hogan, he had this vision, really, even before the pandemic, to expand our recruiting efforts for nurses. So this was set in place years ago. We've been on this journey now since then, and truly AMN their values partners really closely with ours, and the relationship between us and AMN is incredibly positive, and they have really helped us along this journey, and we're well established, and it's really wonderful to be a part of truly. Well. Thank you, Leah. I appreciate that. And we got a question here in the chat, and I direct this to either Mark or Leah, do you have an OB maternity unit?
I can take that one. We do, and we do have a few international nurses in there, but usually we like to get people started on the more of the inpatient side, the med surg side. But I think what's great about mercy South is we're all about growing you to where you want to get to. So if you have a dream to be an OB, maternity, if you have a dream to be in critical care, surgical recovery, ortho, neuro, wherever your dream is, we like to get you established and then start growing you into that. So there's tons of options just within our own hospital, and we've had quite a few nurses who have started in med surg, and they've gone to critical care. We've had a few that have started in med surg so it is available. And if that's your dream, we hope to get you there.
Perfect. Thank you so hopefully that answers your question. I see a couple of questions to address around English and PTE so in the state of Missouri, and so what I would encourage you all to do is, prior to taking your English exam, do your research as to where the English exam that you are choosing to take is accepted in the United States, because not every English exam is accepted in every state. So we want to make sure that you are educated on that. So PTE is not recognized in the state of Missouri, IELTS is so if you take IELTS, you're going to be you're going to have a lot more opportunities that is as recognized in in more states. But again, you choose what, what English exam you want to take. We. Certainly help you in that area. We do have an English preparation program that we can that we can introduce you to, but again, just be mindful that the English exam that you choose to take may not be accepted in states where you want to go.
So please questions ask us. We'd be happy to share that with you as to where each particular English exam is accepted. So thank you for those questions. I just want to make sure that I addressed that. Hi, Jan ICU, nurse from London, welcome, welcome. Thank you so much. And we have a question here, do you have a chemo dialysis unit. And then we're going to get to Mark on another question we do, yeah, that's underneath the critical care service line. We have six bays, and then we do portables at the bedside in the critical care areas, and we also do peritoneal dialysis as well. Perfect. Thank you so much. Leah and So Mark, what do you look for in a nursing candidate? And they, we know that to work in in certain units, but what else are you looking for in so I think we, I think I can speak for Leah too. I think we're looking for passionate people, people who are open to learning.
So much of healthcare has become a service based industry, so patient focus, patient experience, really putting that patient at the center of the work, and then working well with coworkers, being flexible, there's just a ton of opportunity here, and what we really hope to get are nurses who are engaged, nurses who want to grow, and nurses who just really love the job for in the career, for what it is of helping people. We have a lot of people that come from outlying communities that need a ton of help and support, who have barriers, such as financial barriers, you name it. So we're really here to support them and get them to the best point in their life, health wise. So if that's really what you're about, that's what we look for perfect so if I'm hearing it correctly, you need passionate in individuals, which I know are international nurses, just like Thiri, this is a lifelong dream, and come with a with a lot of passion, dedication and so, you know, bring a positive attitude, I think is going to be also very important.
You know, even though this is something that you have been dreaming of and looking forward to for a long time, it can be very challenging to transition. You know, things are things are different here in in the US, than they would have been in in your home country for the most part, I myself an immigrant. As I said. I just got back from Ireland last week from visiting my family, and I've been here for quite some time. I won't age myself, but I've been here for quite some time, but it's challenging, you know, and there are still some days where you get homesick andyou miss the things that you grew up with. Of course, you're going to miss your family if they if they're not with you, but I would have really loved the opportunity to work with an organization like AMN Healthcare International to help with those things. And so there's the there's the transition of practice in your in your job, right, as a nurse, but there's also that cultural aspect and that social aspect that's so important it's just as important that you are enjoying your life outside of work. Yes, we want you to thrive and prosper at your job, but also outside. And you know, Thiri talked about the things that she gets to do outside of work, and that's really, really important that you have a partner who's going to help you and connect you with that international community in your location. So thank you so much for that. And Mark has a question on, how can we apply? Very, very easy.
Go on and apply at AMNHealthcare.com/International, that goes directly to our recruitment team. They are on hand after this event to expedite any applications that we get in as a result of this amazing show, if you have already applied, please be patient. We had a lot of applications, and our recruitment team is working through them diligently to make sure that we get to you in a very short period of time. So yes, Mark, apply today. Get your place in line, right. So that's going to be really important as soon and theories nodding, as soon as you, as soon as we can get that I-140 apply for you, then that secures your priority date. So that's going to be very important for you, and that's the first thing that you need to do. Right? Whatever's going to happen externally is going to happen. But that's the thing. You can control you can decide today to take control, submit your application, get a few documents in, and you can have your I-140 filed in less than 30 days. So that should be your motivation. And if you take anything away from today, and I know that we're going to have a lot more information from the Mercy team, is get your application in today so that we can start your process of working with this amazing health system. So Leah, and can you talk to us a little bit about what orientation for an international nurse looks like?
Yeah. So one of the reasons why, um, you know, the program here at Mercy South is so special is we truly treat our international nurses just as any other mercy nurse. So you are a mercy nurse as soon as you start here and you're put through the orientation and fellowship or residency programs, as we call it, for whatever service line you are in, whether it's med surg or critical care. And we help you along the way. Most orientations take, I would say, on average 10 to 12 weeks if you need a little bit more time, we can work that out. We do have clinical nurse educators for every department that will be working with you along the way, and then we work really closely with AMN if you need any other additional support from a cultural aspect throughout your orientation as well. Perfect. So it sounds like our international nurses have get a lot of support from day one and right through their entire assignment and thereafter as well. So I love how you said, you know, Leah, when you're a mercy nurse, you're a mercy nurse.
And so I think that that's really important, and our nurses want to feel part of a family, and they certainly get that at the Mercy Health System. So thank you. Thank you. I do want to there's a question here, do you accept non bedside nurses? So right now, we are looking for experienced nurses who are working at the bedside. That is going to be very important for a successful transition here in in the US. So if you are not currently working, I would you to go back to bedside, and then we can certainly help you. But right now, no, we're looking for experienced nurses who are working at the bedside, and that's what that's what our hospitals need. That's what our hospitals are looking for. And so if you are not currently, I would highly encourage you to go back bedside, and we would be more than happy to help you. So Thiri, can you talk to us a little bit about what was it like in your first day or days after you arrived in the US and started working at Mercy south and how did AMN Healthcare International support you.
Let me start from the day when I arrived to the states. So I didn't feel like strange at all, because there was one license person there to guide me through, how to get a bank accounts, how to get a phone card and like they would drive me around, where to shops, the grocery and stuff. And when I started onboarding with the mercy, it was so details and so well programmed, like I have all the classes and stuff, although I have been a nurses for a long time. I mean the process, the devices that we use, everything is different from what I have experienced with so it was really helpful for me. They are like all the detail classes that I needed for my like working for me to work in my surgical step downs unit. Okay, great so the orientation was robust for you. You talked about how it was different from practicing nursing in in your in your home country. Can you talk to us a little bit about what those differences were between practicing at Mercy south and practicing in a hospital? I know you. You mentioned that you had worked for many years in Singapore. Um, so what was the main difference there.
So we use Citrix for the charting, for the documentations, and here we use epics, which is a huge difference for me, and the way we contact the providers, how we escalate, like how we ask. Like our concern to the doctors as well, and the autonomy of the nurses. Like, there are a lot of things we cannot do as a nurse back in Singapore, but here we can do a lot of things as a nurse, how to advocate for your patients, how you can do assessment the patients and how you can decide on the patient's care, how you can involve the planning of the patient's care, they are all like a huge difference for me, perfect. Thank you so much. Thiri. So I just have one more question for the panel is, what advice would you give to international nurses who are listening in today, and want to get started on the process. What? What advice would you give them Thiri? Let's start with you. Okay, the first thing for me is that if you don't know how to drive, please learn how to drive here.
I mean, it's very difficult to like, rely on just on the public transport, so it is always a very good to learn how to drive. First, I was lucky enough that my husband was with me to drive around. If not, I would be in big trouble. Yes, okay, and have you started on the process of learning to drive? Yeah, I'm driving now. So it's a congratulations. Congratulations that's wonderful. You know, it's a that's, that's a big deal for someone coming International. It's a big deal. So congratulations to you. You are mobile, so that's great. It just gives you so much more independence, doesn't it? Like you can take off and go enjoy your new area when you're when you're not working. There's one more question from pretty Mel, are we? Are we looking for emergency room nurses at Mercy south? Leah's nodding her head, yeah, as far as I know, yes. I think we have a couple. Okay, perfect. So, so pretty, what you're going to do is submit your application and our team will go through the open the available positions for you at Mercy south. And if there is an ER opportunity and you qualify for that, then absolutely we'll get your application submitted, and Leah or Mark any other parting advice before we leave you go for our audience today. Thank you so much for all of the great information that you've provided. I know that it was very, very helpful for our audience here today, and we want to be very respectful of your time and but if there's any parting advice that you want to share with our audience, I know that they would appreciate it.
I think I'd just like to say, be patient. If you do end up coming here to Mercy south, it is a major transition. We've learned and kind of, kind of like Thiri said she made a good point. You know, about the driving and the living situation, we're off the major highway. And what I learned from some of the International nurses is that they were trying to get as close as they could to the hospital, because in their country, the roads are kind of bad, and there's more of a travel aspect of getting to somewhere here. You know, you can be miles away, and it could take you 15 minutes to get to work. It could take you 20 minutes to get to work. So to get to work. So just overall, be patient. I know Nurses also like to we just have a nature about us where we like to accept a challenge and then get it completed as soon as possible. But I think transitioning the United States and the United States healthcare is a little different, and you've got people who are here to support you and be patient and to understand that you're trying to transition your personal life as well as your professional life. So, you know, take the time get set up appropriately, and I think it'll be a smoother transition for everyone.
Great advice. Mark, thank you so much. Leah, any last advice before we let you go, yeah, I mean everything that Mark said, and then also, I think we've already mentioned it, but just do your research with, you know, living areas and options here near the hospital. I think we had some feedback at one point in time that the living expenses were too high, but they were looking in a very, very prestigious area near the hospital. So there are other options. So if you are you know, finding any of those barriers, please reach out. I know anybody at AMN or Mark or I, or anybody here at Mercy South can kind of help navigate you guys where to go and where to look for. Another thing I wanted to add is, you know, we've had this international nurse program for several years now. It's a pretty I want to say, well oiled, right? So we have all of our processes down. And then I wanted to add several. Many of our international nurses have already converted to core after their contracts have been completed. So I bring that up because we do have quite a diverse population here, of coworkers, here at the hospital, and then also here around the hospitals, diverse as well. So perfect thank you so much Leah, and I know that that is, that's the goal, right? Is, once you come to Mercy south, you want to stay at Mercy south as a core team member, and the team does a great job early on in your process, in ensuring that that's something that you choose to do. And Thiri is nodding her head. And so I do just want to say a big, big thank you to our panel today. I know that all of our listeners have gotten some great information, not only on the health system mercy south, but also Thiri’s experience as an international nurse in St Louis, Missouri, working at Mercy south. So thank you so much. Again. We want to be very respectful of your time. We look forward to having you on a subsequent show, and hopefully that you will be open to that, but really, really appreciate all of your time. And Thiri, I think you're on a day off, so I appreciate you taking this this hour just to spend with us, and I hope that.
I'm sorry. Can you say that again? I just come back from my night shift. Oh, Thiri. Now that's dedication that we were just talking about, isn't it? Like I mean, I'm really glad I told my god, I we cannot. We cannot. Thank you enough for that. So hopefully you get some rest, some well deserved rest today. And if you all have any weekend plans, I hope that you have a wonderful weekend. The Olympics opening ceremony is tonight, so I will be and hopefully I can stay awake for it because it's pretty late, but looking forward to that as well. So some really good sporting activities coming on over the next couple of weeks. My personal favorite is the gymnastics. But you know, so we'll be, we'll be listening in and watching that. So Okay, thank you so much again. We appreciate all of the great information. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon, and have a great weekend. Okay, thank you so much. All right, so I think that you had got some great information there from our hiring leaders. I see a lot of questions coming in. Our team will be in there throughout the day, answering everything that we can on our Facebook page, but we want to continue our show, and our next segment is one of our favorites. It is Holly's clinical corner. Now Holly is not able to join us today, but she has very, very sweetly recorded a video that we are going to share with you right now, and Holly will share her clinical corner with us, so let's bring it up.
Welcome to today's clinical corner. My name is Holly Musselwhite I'm the senior clinical manager with AMN International, working with direct hire nurses, and I want to talk today about clinical decision making or clinical judgment. It's a critical part of the nursing role here in the States. Mistakes can happen when we don't do this effectively, leading to patient injury or death. Nurses in this process are going to recognize cues from their assessment, which includes listening, looking, feeling, doing that entire head to toe assessment, analyzing the information and coming up with what is the likely problem and what are the priorities that we need to do so that we take the right action. Follow up of evaluation of the actions we took and what the outcomes were is also an important part of the process. So just because you took action doesn't mean you're done. You have to keep looking at what happened after that. How can we learn from it? How can we keep striving and doing better? Novice nurses take a long time for this process. So beginners are doing a very methodical step by step. Did I do this? Do I know that? Should I check this and it can actually lead to a slowdown in taking action. Novice nurses are best benefited if they actually seek out the seasoned nurses and use some of that dialog with them to validate that they're on the right track and their clinical decision making process is moving in the right direction, and that positive reinforcement or the provision of suggestions from that nurse can actually help us pivot and continue to polish those skills. Seasoned nurses rely on more intuition, because they've seen a lot of things and they're recognizing patterns that they can apply to future scenarios with patients, so they have that going for them. But if you lack knowledge of fundamentals, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, do. Basic treatments of common conditions, it's time to start refreshing those. You may even find it helpful to pull out your NCLEX study materials, because that is that basic entry level nursing knowledge. And if you've forgotten that, it's time to refresh before you get here and you're called upon to know that information as a way of executing good clinical judgment. So understanding common conditions, best practices, and then refreshing what you don't remember is going to be critical to preparing so that you have the best chance of being set up for success. That's it for today's clinical corner. Good luck in developing your clinical judgment skills, and we look forward to talking more next time with you on the clinical corner. Have a great rest of your week.
Great so thank you, Holly always has some great information, great advice for international nurses. So I know that it's one of your very favorite. Hopefully Holly will be back for our next Onwards and Upwards show and so there are lots and lots of questions that are coming in in the chat, and again, the team will be in there throughout the day, answering what we can for you. Love to see the interaction I see Arlene ER nurse here. Leah is the executive director of the critical care department at Mercy South looking for critical care nurses. So the answer is yes. So before we go move on to our upcoming shows, I do just want to say again, is, this is your this is your opportunity to get your place in line. Please don't delay do it today. If you have not already they the first step that you have control over is getting your I-140 applied. So the sooner you do that, the sooner you can establish that all important priority date.
And regardless of what happens with the visa bulletin, you want to do that. So that is what you can control today, you will get your I-140 filed in less than 30 days by choosing a staffing opportunity. And you don't have to choose a location right now, although we highly encourage you to choose mercy south and go work with this amazing team that joined us today. And so let's pull up our upcoming shows, and they will let you know what you can look forward to. And so we have our immigration Q&A on August 13, August 16, excuse me, and so that's your opportunity to hear from our lawyers and any questions that that you may have. So please tune in on August 16 for our immigration Q&A on August 13, we have the Lefora Talk Show, and we want, we want to hear from you. So what do you want us to cover? What information is going to be important for you? And so please make sure that you are putting in your suggestions, email us, message us on our social media pages. Whatever you need to do, we'll take your recommendations and then we will, we will get that information out to you.
So we got our NCLEX class, which is the first Monday of every month, and we've got our Aspire RN, the third Monday of every month, and then we've got our two English shows, the second Monday and the fourth Monday of every month. So lots and lots of great stuff that is coming up over the next couple of weeks, over the next couple of months. So again, we thank you so much for joining us today. I hope that you found our client showcase with Mercy south, very, very helpful, inspirational. As I said, our recruitment team is on hand to facilitate and expedite your application so that we can get you in front of those hiring leaders. Should you qualify? But again, get your place in line today it is I'm repeating myself, and I know I'm repeating myself, but it is very, very important that you take control of that, establish that all important priority date, and then let us guide you through the rest of the process. Okay, so with that, I will let you go until the next time, Onwards and upwards.