Nurses from aborad....

Nurses General Nursing

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So we are being helped by nurses from abroad../?????

Do you remember how Mcdonalds and Burger king ran out of employies. What did they do? does anyone at McDonalds speak english anymore?

Am I comparing our jobs to working fast food? you tell me.

Why is the ANA allowing foreign Nurses to obtain licenses...???

really thats my biggest question it seems like the ANA is bending over backwards to relive the shortage. when I think the shortage is the best thing for nurses since disposible needles.

matt:) :)

It's not about the money is exactly what I am saying there sjoe. And I understand that 40K in San Diego is different than in a town outside of California's high cost of living. I just don't believe that 2.7 million nurses are out of the profession just because of the money like Norbert was saying, or that if nurse wages increased we would suddenly see them all coming back. I just don't believe there are enough American nurses WILLING to be nurses right now despite the fact that nursing does offer SOME good opportunities. Nurses who don't like their schedules can go agency, they can become travel nurses to make more money, they can go into advanced practice or education or administration, etc. But there still aren't enough working right now. Whether that can be changed with better wages or working conditions is one thing to debate, but the fact that immigrant nurses are needed to provide care right now is another.

And I understand that fewer US nurses go overseas, I never said there were more overseas than there were foreigners in the US, but if you want that right then you can't always complain about the devil foreigners coming to the US. They have to write the same exam you did, and if you don't want them working in your hospital you can try to do something about it. See my above post: What is anyone posting on this thread doing about it?

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Re the "Acceptable " foreigners in post #8. When I visit the States, I have to go through the "Aliens" gate like any other foreigner. US nurses coming to the UK have to meet our standards, and that is how it should be, wherever you are from, or go.

To Norbert, I would only comment that a basic tenet of capitalism is that you keep your profit as high as you can, and your costs (nurses' pay) low as you can.

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That's very true, DonMurray. I've always felt that in relation to industry, we'd be considered a piece of equipment, necessary for the production of whatever the company makes. The equipment itself is just there and you want to get it as cheaply as possible. You want it to work as much/long/hard as it possibly can. If it breaks down or starts to cause problems, then you replace it quickly and with as little fuss as possible.

I've always wondered if they started charging for nurses as a point of care thing, if maybe at least the money part of it would be better? I mean a 10% profit on $100 is more than a 10% profit on $50, isn't it?

Love

Dennie

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Specializes in ER, Med Surg. ICU, Mgmt. Geri. Hme Care.

dear Alansmith: I disagree with your point of view. I don't think that any foreign nurse could steal your job, if you loose is because o yourself. Foreign nurses have to taker the same examination as nurses in USA, after passing an educational screening wich includes anothe nursing examination, it's really hard. Besides nurses in SA are as well educated as nurses in USA. ie in Uruguay we have one unified nursing program for all the country, I know it's a small country, it takes 4 years and 6 months after we earn a bachelor's degree. Listen all the nurses in our country have bachelors degree. there's no other intermediate degree.

In adition, the conditions in which we work make us be very creative, we don't have many of the medical devices that you do. When installing an IV line we have to be precise, we can't waste devices; on the other hand we manage a group of assistants who care agroup of patients ( 24 to 30). On ER generally are 1 or 2 nurses per shift, I mean really huge ER with a Critical Care unit in it, 300 consults per day. this bad conditions is what make us skilled in various circumnstances.ie I'm a 19 years experienced nurse and I'm skilled on ER, med surg, ICU, obsterics and ginecology.

It's really hard to me to realize what you think of foreign nurses, I think there are bad nurses all around the world even in USA. The thing is to love your profession wherever you are.

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Fergus51,

I'm sorry, but I don't really consider ya'll Canadians foreigners. You're more like brothers--we'll often drink the same beer if availible, eat the same foods (outside of that French thing ya got going on), drive on the same side of the road, drive the same kinds of cars, and speak the same language (outside of that French thing again).

If it weren't for a couple of twists of history, our borders would be the arctic and Mexico. I think it still could work...

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Ex, I was just in the US for a vacation, and I always think the US and Canada are the same until I go down there! You should see the look on people's faces when I say "brown bread" or "Kraft dinner"!:D

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Mr. alansmith, as a filipino nurse, we work hard 4 years in college to get our BSN, as you'll get eliminated from nursing school if you fail even one subject, we spent almost 3 years in hospital training while in college, we took our Phil. boards, then if we apply for the USA, we'll take the CGFNS, TOEFL, TSE, then the NCLEX, then you'll tell us that we are questionable? you should see what we went thru before landing that job in the US, we are competent as you are, only for language problems when we are new, but we understand english as we are taught from elementary, i hope you'll be enlightened with our educational qualifications. in the middle east we are the most sought(did i spell it right) after nurse as we are the most caring and compassionate nurse around, even the UK they look for Phil. nurses...

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OK JAP, RN, all fine with your post, until the "we are the most caring and compassionate nurses around". It seems silly that while trying to dispell one stereotype you would toss out another....

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Every state in the US has their own BON requirements for 'non-US educated RNs". Most states require CFGON(did I spell that right) and then NCLEX. Some states will waive the CFGON if you trained in Canada( 18-19 states) or in an English speaking country(fewer states). I endorsed my Canadian RN license through the State of New Hampshire. Interesting point, the State of Washington won't endorse my RN license in NH even if I have my APRN/ARNP license(nurse practitioner) as well in New Hampshire and have national certification as a NP. Hmmm....

I have recently applied for RN registration in 1 province and already hold active current RN license.in another...more redtape than I have ever encountered in the US. Initially, they even wanted me to work as a grad nurse before being eligible for registration.

The North American Free Trade Agreement means Canadian, American and Mexican citizens can work anywhere in N. America

without a traditional work visa as long as they meet the educational and professional requirements.

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Specializes in icu-telemetry.

hi to everybody!

i have just registered....just seconds ago.

......believe it or not, but i was instantly and terribly shocked by Mr. Smith's message!

the moment i finished reading his statement, the only thing

that i recalled was the movie AMISTAD....and all the ugly

stuff there.

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Dear Matt,

I too sit back and chuckle!!! Love being sort of in the drivers seat for a change. But perish the thought if foreign trained nurses come in by the boatloads and are willing to accept substandard wages and conditions. Again it is the patient who suffers. :o

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
originally posted by alansmith52

why is the ana allowing foreign nurses to obtain licenses...???

really thats my biggest question it seems like the ana is bending over backwards to relive the shortage.

rebutal:

immigration and the nursing workforce

ana's message to congress:

ana believes that the u. s. healthcare industry has failed to maintain a work environment that is conducive to safe, quality nursing practice and that retains experienced u. s. nurses within patient care. ana supports continuation of the current certification process to apply to all foreign-educated health care workers regardless of their visa or other entry status. ana opposes efforts to exempt foreign-educated nurses from current h-1b visa program requirements.

the issues surrounding immigration and the nursing workforce:

the practice of changing immigration law to facilitate the use of foreign-educated nurses is a short-term solution that serves only the interests of the hospital industry, not the interests of patients, domestic nurses, or foreign-educated nurses.

ana condemns the practice of recruiting nurses from countries with their own nursing shortage.

the illegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act of 1996 requires that all foreign health care professionals, except physicians, must be certified by the commission on graduates of foreign nursing schools (cgfns) or another independent, government-certified organization qualified to issue credentials. the certification process verifies that the foreign health care worker's education, training, or experience meets all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for entry into the united states. in addition, any foreign license submitted must be validated as authentic and unencumbered. if the health care worker is a registered nurse (rn), the nurse must have passed an examination testing both nursing skill and english language proficiency. ana opposes the proposal now being considered that would reduce these requirements.

the cause of instability in the nursing workforce must be addressed.

over-reliance on foreign-educated nurses serves only to postpone efforts required to address the needs of the u.s. nursing workforce.

current laws limit the recruitment of nurses from overseas to 500 per year. the proposed senate bill would increase the number of nurses recruited from overseas from the current 500 per year to 195,000 per year. the house of representatives proposed bill removes the cap entirely and calls for no limit on the number of foreign-educated nurses that could be recruited to the us. the proposed bills in both the house and the senate are similar in reducing the current strict credential requirements for these nurses.

additionally, foreign-educated nurses brought into the united states tend to be placed in jobs with unacceptable working conditions with the expectation that these nurses, as temporary residents and foreigners, would not be in a position to complain.

http://nursingworld.org/gova/federal/gfederal.htm

to view charts comparing current visa laws along with the changes that have been proposed to reduce credentialling requirements and allow for the recruitment of many more foreign-educated nurses from oversees, see:

http://nursingworld.org/gova/federal/gachrt97.htm

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