Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act, HR 5924

allnurses Guide · Aug 12, 2008

I can tell his goals are excellent. He understands without details the importance of nurses.

I'll have to study the bill before deciding whether to support it.

allnurses Guide · Aug 12, 2008

Here is the text of the bill:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-5924

mc3, ASN, RN · Aug 12, 2008

Oh no, here we go again!!! :banghead:

There isn't a shortage of nurses, it's the fact that nurses are leaving in droves because of the working conditions!!! Grant more foreign visas?? Oh, great idea :banghead: More foreign labor to dilute wages. Here's an idea .... try paying nurses what they're worth, and have better staffing ratios. Oh, and why not let LPN's (who are already here, and trained!!!) into more institutions?

Aaaarghhhhhhhh!!!!!

mc3

alan headbloom · Aug 12, 2008

Oh no, here we go again!!! There isn't a shortage of nurses, it's the fact that nurses are leaving in droves because of the working conditions!!! Grant more foreign visas?? Oh, great idea. More foreign labor to dilute wages. Here's an idea .... try paying nurses what they're worth, and have better staffing ratios. Oh, and why not let LPN's (who are already here, and trained!!!) into more institutions?
Aaaarghhhhhhhh!!!!!
mc3

MC,

Sounds like Rep. Sensenbrenner and his colleagues need to hear from you, a knowledgeable person in the trenches. Seems like the time for citizen input is now!

http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/ Click on "Contact Jim."

Alan

Nurse!Nurse!Hello? · Aug 12, 2008

US Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) wrote this editorial about his co-sponsorship of HR 5924, the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act. Do you support the bill?
8/11/2008
A prescription for our nursing shortage
By Jim Sensenbrenner
Nurses have always been the friendly faces providing comfort (blah blah blah--see original post)

Alan Headbloom, are you a nurse?

Didn't think so. So why have you joined allnurses?

Could it be that you stand to benefit financially from this bill passing? Since you make your living training foreign healthcare personnel to improve their English skills, your support of the bill is certainly understandable! :chuckle

But trying to drum up support here-- in a nurses' forum--for a bill that will increase the number of foreign nurses is inappropriate. The US government should be pouring money into programs to increase the number of US citizens attending nursing school. (I do realize that the bill does include a provision for increasing funding in this area, but it is not enough.)

So, do I support this bill, in its current form? Nope. I don't support it here in this thread, and I didn't support it in the other threads you seem to interject it into! :banghead:

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Aug 12, 2008

I'm not sure that an influx of foreign workers is always such a good idea. Good for those who want to immigrate but not always beneficial to those who already reside here.

While as a student I support more resources for training new nurses I also think more needs to be looked at at how to retain the nursing population not just to train more replacements.

And yes allowing LVN/LpN's to what they are trained for and not just in LTC would help and LVN's wouldn't just be a stop on the way to RN.

RN1989 · Aug 12, 2008

I read that this bill was already passed on Aug 1.

They disregarded what the ANA had to say about stopping the mass influx of foreign nurses and making the employers more responsible for improving the working conditions so that US nurses wouldn't leave the profession.

alan headbloom · Aug 13, 2008

Alan Headbloom, are you a nurse?
Didn't think so. So why have you joined allnurses?

Could it be that you stand to benefit financially from this bill passing? Since you make your living training foreign healthcare personnel to improve their English skills, your support of the bill is certainly understandable!

But trying to drum up support here-- in a nurses' forum--for a bill that will increase the number of foreign nurses is inappropriate. The US government should be pouring money into programs to increase the number of US citizens attending nursing school. (I do realize that the bill does include a provision for increasing funding in this area, but it is not enough.)

So, do I support this bill, in its current form? Nope. I don't support it here in this thread, and I didn't support it in the other threads you seem to interject it into!

HHN,

I am not a nurse and have been upfront about this from my first participation in this forum (https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/what-brings-non-nurses-allnurses-321291-4.html).

I am only interested in gaining another view of life and culture in the hospital. And so far, lots of members have given me insights straight from the horse's mouth, which I can relay to my clients in order to make their lives more integrated and productive. In the health care field, I currently work only with IMGs and the Americans who work with them. (I also work with foreign-born engineers, managers, researchers, and others outside of health care.) I have no vested interest in the passage of this current legislation, which you labeled as flawed. If I were to begin working with international nurses, I'd share lots of info about how to work with Americans, how to understand American culture, and certainly quote some of the candid discussions from this forum about how American nurses feel about all kinds of issues.

If members of this forum wish to express their opinions further on this topic, I'll gladly listen. I'm not trying to "drum up" support for anything here. Just tapping a source of expertise which needs to be shared.

Thanks for listening (and responding),

Alan

allnurses Guide · Aug 13, 2008

I read that this bill was already passed on Aug 1.
They disregarded what the ANA had to say about stopping the mass influx of foreign nurses and making the employers more responsible for improving the working conditions so that US nurses wouldn't leave the profession.

It must have been a different but similar bill.

This one has been introduced and sent to committees. That's it so far.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5924/show

elkpark · Aug 13, 2008

I do not support this bill, have contacted my congressional representatives (Rep and both Senators) to urge them to vote against this measure, and have encouraged all my friends to do the same.

BTW, Alan, you can't "contact Jim" via the website unless you are actually one of his constituents (live in his district in WI).

The real problem is not a shortage of nurses, it's a shortage of nurses willing to put up with the lousy working conditions in so many facilities. Until that problem is addressed and ameliorated, nothing will change. We are already churning out huge waves of new grads every year, but large numbers of them get burned out quickly and leave the field, along with all the seasoned, experienced RNs who are "voting with their feet" and leaving.

alan headbloom · Aug 13, 2008

On a related note:

Monday, August 11, 2008

US Seeks More Foreign Doctors, Medical Students

http://educationusaintaiwan.blogspot.com/2008/08/us-seeks-more-foreign-doctors-medical.html

Recent studies suggest the United States health care system will soon experience a shortage of doctors and medical professionals. This is leading to increased efforts to attract foreign doctors and medical students to the United States. John Featherly narrates.

Experts say several states have or will soon experience shortages of physicians in a variety of specialties, including cardiology, radiology, surgery and pediatrics.

Dr. Susan Wolfsthal, the director of the University of Maryland's Residency Program, says the United States needs more doctors in all specialties. "There are some parts of the United States where there are many, many physicians and it is very easy for patients to have access to clinical care. And then there are other areas of the United States where there is less and there might be only one physician for many thousands of patients."

This shortage is putting pressure on American medical schools to increase enrollment and on the U.S. government to allow more foreign doctors into the country.

U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons says the United States needs these foreign nationals. "We have people who come to the United States to provide nursing care and medical care and gosh knows we need all the help we can get."

Educators, including Wolfsthal, say foreign students can gain valuable experience and knowledge studying in the United States and working in U.S. hospitals. "You get the same exposure, you get the same opportunity to see whether this is something you are interested in and they also get to see you in action."

Sonia Yousef, a rheumatology fellow at the University of Maryland, says foreign students should try to have well-rounded experiences before coming to the United States.

"So you should try to do some volunteer work, anyways it's good, and that looks good on your resume as well. So that is probably the fourth thing, but it is not as important as clinical experience."

Wolfsthal says universities value the diversity international students bring. "When you have international graduates they bring, as someone from another institution would, they bring a different perspective, they have different interests and so they bring that to the program."

Experts and educators say foreign medical students and doctors gain a lot from their time spent in the United states. They say working in American hospitals and studying at universities in the United States gives foreign students and doctors a chance to work with the latest technology and to grow professionally.