The purpose of this thesis was to research the experiences of nurses with a foreign background of integration in the Finnish working environment with the help of orientation. The target group were registered and practical nurses with a foreign background working in South Finland. The data was collected by using the theme interviews and analysed by using content analysis. Six registered nurses and three practical nurses participated in the research. The material of this thesis was collected between spring – summer 2015.

The purpose of the interviews was to define foreign nurses’ experiences of their integration and orientation into the Finnish working environment. The aim of the thesis was to provide information about what could be done better in order to improve foreign nurses’ orientation and integration into nursing.

Based on the results of this thesis the conclusion can be drawn that most of the experiences of the participants of this research were positive and the nurses had a possibility to utilize their skills in work according to their education. Their own Finnish language skills, both negative atmosphere and differences between the cultures were mentioned as challenges by the nurses.

Finnish population is getting old and the need of the nursing staff is going to increase in the future. One possibility to answer this need is recruiting foreign nurses and improving their orientation into the Finnish working environment in order to improve the assimilation process.