please read-- Korean Nurses

World International

Published

title:

rn to bsn for korean nurses....proceed with caution

from eastern university, st davids,pa:

rn to bsn for korean nurses

quote:

the korean national medical center (knmc) has entered an agreement to recruit students for a special rn-to-bsn program offered by eastern university, a christian university in the suburbs of philadelphia, pennsylvania. this program provides korean nurses with an educational experience designed to strengthen their professional nursing skills within the u.s. healthcare environment, as well as develop their proficiency in english, particularly in the area of conversation.

this 48-credit-hour program combines upper-level nursing studies with courses in english as a second language (esl) for healthcare professionals. all courses have been customized for korean nurses. students in the program receive a laptop computer and software...

[color=#7e1517]optional practical training

at the end of the program, eastern will assist the nurses in applying for 12 months of full-time optional practical training (opt) at one of the mercy health hospitals. the annual base pay for the opt will be $35,000, with opportunities for higher paying shifts and assignments. as part of the full-time opt, the student will receive a full benefits package, including complete medical, vision, prescription and dental coverage. all faculty and medical personnel in this program are committed to helping the students prepare for and adjust to the u.s. environment.

please be very careful with anything like this. sorry to say, but it is taking advantage of nurses. when you come to the us as an rn, you will have taken the nclex exam already, and would have had to take the english exams. this is treating you with salaries much less than you should be getting and is inappropriate. take the time to do things the right way, and have your exams done before you come to the us. if you are at a level where you still need esl counrses, you should not be coming to the us to work in the healthcare field. it will be dangerous for you as well as the patient. your english skills need to be equivalent to a college student, not a housewife who is trying to open a bank account or make a reserviation over the phone.

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This salary is low, and you will be taken advantage of. Any programs like this will not be beneficial to you, and notice where it states that if you do not have your RN license, you will be placed in another role, meaning nursing asst at a very low salary.

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this is also another article on the topic from the nursing union in pa:

from nurses union pasnap:

attempt to exploit foreign nurses fought at mercy fitzgerald

[color=#231f20]article submitted by the local executive

[color=#231f20]board of fitzgerald mercy hospital

[color=#231f20]nurses association

[color=#231f20]

[color=#231f20][color=#231f20]

[color=#231f20][color=#231f20]mercy health corporation, the

[color=#231f20][color=#231f20]owner of mercy fitzgerald hospital,[color=#231f20]

[color=#231f20]and eastern university in radnor,

[color=#231f20]pennsylvania, began a partnership to

[color=#231f20]recruit and provide korean nurses

[color=#231f20]with classes and an opportunity to

[color=#231f20]work at the hospital. the program

[color=#231f20]was negotiated between the hospital

[color=#231f20]and the university to supply nurses

[color=#231f20]from korea to ostensibly ease the

[color=#231f20]nursing shortage here. throughout

[color=#231f20]the hospital, we now have

[color=#231f20]approximately 30 capable korean

[color=#231f20]rns who have joined the staff of

[color=#231f20]professional nurses through this

[color=#231f20]program. our o.r. suite hired 3

[color=#231f20]experienced rns to staff the o.r.

[color=#231f20]and pacu in november 2005. they

[color=#231f20]worked 20 hours a week while they

[color=#231f20]were attending classes at eastern

[color=#231f20]university.

[color=#231f20]upon their completion of the

[color=#231f20]program at eastern university, the

[color=#231f20]nurses were given full-time employee

[color=#231f20]status. however, the hospital chose

[color=#231f20]to deny these nurses an equal status

[color=#231f20]with the rest of the nursing staff,

[color=#231f20]who are all covered by our union

[color=#231f20]contract. our contract requires that

[color=#231f20]a nurses’ salary be based on how

[color=#231f20]many years ago she or he was

[color=#231f20]licensed. yet, these nurses were[color=#231f20]

being paid at the 2004 salary rate for

a graduate nurse, regardless of their

number of years of experience. all

of these nurses have some

experience; many over a decade. ...

www.pennanurses.org/news/newsletter/october%202006.pdf

[color=#231f20][color=#231f20]

__________________

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Sorry, but if they are that capable and have experience, they should have come to the US with a green card in hand and had completed the Ehglish exams and have had taken NCLEX-RN and have a Visa Screen Certificate already.

This is abuse of them, and can cause issues for patients if the language skills are not good. Ans lawsuits as well.

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hi, suzanne

i saw this school web site, too.

and i thought like you,

it will be dangerous for you as well as the patient. your english skills need to be equivalent to a college student, not a housewife who is trying to open a bank account or make a reserviation over the phone.

it's not just about korean students/nurses, it's applied to all nurses whose english is not their first language.

i don't know what's this school program for korean nursing students, but it seems to me...farfetched.

i was furious when i read,

"the annual base pay for the opt will be $35,000, with opportunities for higher paying shifts and assignments."

are they kidding?

one thing i'm worried about is that.

i haven't had any interview so far, but i'm worried what if any hospital takes advantage of me because of that.

they've heard of this, they've seen this, and i'm korean who needs to get a working visa. well, i probably overreact to it, but it got me think so many things as a 'almost-grad-nurse.'

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There are no working visas for nurses in the US. There are green cards if you have completed the requirements. If a student, then you can work under the CPT, or the OPT only for a limited time and under certain requirements.

The CPT and the OPT provide an EAD, which is an Employment Authorization Document, but it is not a visa. They are still under the F-1 visa until they go for the green card, or the OPT is complete.

Not a working visa, no such thing.

-----------------------------------

Real programs that are not trying to circumvent things and go against a nursing union for one, will not take advantage of you. Are you still a nursing student here?

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Right, not working visa, what I was saying was sponsorship.(greencard)

Yes, I'm still nursing student, and I applied OPT last month.

Is it possible hospitals offer low saraly because they sponsor me?

if they do, should I have to just take it when they offer me a job with this condition? Since I have no experience, I have no idea what my rights are.

It might be off the topic,but what's the difference between non/union hopital in terms of nurses benefits?Thanks in advance.

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Your salary should be the same as the other nurses at the same facility, with the same benefits that they get.

It is illegal for the nurse to be treated differently. You will be applying for the green card when you are able to, and the law requires that you get paid the same. With the OPT, you will be an RN and working in that capacity.

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