Survey: Should the U.S. recruit nurses from other countries?

Neicee · Jul 18, 2001

I am against the U.S. hiring nurses from other countries. There is a nursing shortage. I believe this can be corrected by increasing salaries, better schedules, and smaller patient loads. Let's take care of home instead of looking abroad! :D

Level2Trauma · Jul 19, 2001

If you think the working conditions are poor now; WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE AN INFLUX OF FOREIGN NURSES, we will all be fleeing the nursing profession. Just my opinion.

Level2Trauma · Jul 19, 2001

So- I assume this was it! I`m not from an englishspeaking country- happens to be from Sweden- so I can`t work in the US?! If my boyfriend wants to his postdoc at Stanford, I wont be able to come with him because I DON`T COME FROM AN ENGLISHSPEAKING COUNTRY??!! Well- I don`t think USA is an option anymore- maybe he will do it at Oxford instead. Oh no- I forgot- UK is an englishspeaking country too! Strange that they are trying to recruite us to come and work there aldready one year before graduation??!! I agree with the member from UK who reminded us that there ARE high quality universities outslide the borders of the US too, even if some people here seems to have a hard time understanding that... /QUOTE]
What's the fuss then, KEEP YOUR BUTT AT HOME!!!

nar-S · Jul 19, 2001

YES WHY NOT??? take out all the foreign nurses and let's see how you do??? most are even better that others.

Dplear · Jul 19, 2001

Maybe I am biased since I married one of those"foriegn" nurses 14 years ago, but I beieve that we have plentyof room for foriegn nurses here in the USA.

I have never seen such a large collection of racist people as I have seen here on this thread. as for English speaking, theses nurse MUST pass an english proficency exam, take the CGFNS, and then they must alos take the NCLEX...even those nurses from Canada must take the NCLEX here in Texas.

Walk accrross a streeet in in major city in the US and listen to the voices...you will hear every language known to man. That is what makes us strong as a nation...our diversity. Theses nurses from foriegn lands are more than welcome in by me to work along side of me...as long as they prove themselves of being capable. This also includes NATIVE nurses born trained and taught here...I have run across many American Nurses I would never trust to touch anyone.

In this day and age of SEVER shortages of nurses lets get the help we need now and work on the problem at the same time.

AND STOP BEING SUCH RACIST PEOPLE!!!!! ( by the way it is also a FEDERAL crime to pay a foriegn nurse less than their Amercan counterpart in the same facility just because they are from a froiegn land. )

nurs4kids · Jul 19, 2001

Man, I am floored by most of your attitudes. I am from the south and WE are considered racist by the rest of the country???!!! In a profession that is based on compassion and caring, we sound pretty pathetic. Where do americans get off thinking we have some superior nursing skills??? I have worked with nurses from all areas of the world, some are wonderful, some are awful. Some of the worst I've worked with came from.... YES..the good ole U S of A.

We whine and complain about mandatory OT. We say our main concern is patient safety (ie; staff patient ratios). Then we fuss about "foreign nurses". We should be thankful that people are willing to pick up and leave home to come work here. They are willing to leave home to work under the conditions we constantly gripe about. There are agency jobs everywhere, so we all have the same opportunity. Most of us do not wish to give up the comforts of familiarity (home) to work elsewhere, even for more money.

I personally am tired, I welcome even a "band-aid". The foreign nurses are not our enemies. CEO's are the enemy.

We should unionize not ostracize!!

JMP · Jul 19, 2001

So tell me............do you consider Canadian nurses among the dreaded forgein nurses. If so.....you guys would be so "up the creek" without them.

rosy · Jul 19, 2001

Originally posted by phyll
This is in reply to navy nurse.
I did not only train for one year nor did I achieve any credits online. In the UK it takes 3 years "rigorous" training before you can become a registerd nurse and I believe our universities are on par with American universities. After all, we do have places like St Andrews, Oxford Cambridge to name but a few.
As student nurses, we have to work in the wards (in most cases are counted in staff numbers) as well as study for exams and research and write essays.
I can understand why American nurses are angry because they feel that their problems are not being addressed, because we are in the same predicament in the UK and we are also grossly understaffed.

Hi Phyll

Do places like St. Andrews, Oxford, and Cambridge really have nursing schools? I'm not trying to be a smart as*, I just don't know.

Level2Trauma · Jul 19, 2001

Originally posted by nar-S
YES WHY NOT??? take out all the foreign nurses and let's see how you do??? most are even better that others.

Correct "ENGLISH" would be "...better than others."

Josefin, BSN, PhD, RN · Jul 19, 2001

Originally posted by rosy

Hi Phyll
Do places like St. Andrews, Oxford, and Cambridge really have nursing schools? I'm not trying to be a smart as*, I just don't know.

I can only speak for Sweden, but since RN-programme is an universitybased education it`s given by all our universities. For example, I will graduate from Uppsala university, settled in the 14:th century. It´s one of europes oldest and most famous universities, similar to Oxford and Cambridge. Maybe that`s not good enough for some people here?!

nar-S · Jul 20, 2001

level2trauma...i hope you're intelligent enough to know that it's a typographical error or are you too blinded by your perfection of the english language?

tiger · Jul 20, 2001

wow, i see things are getting a bit heated here. i agree with diana 61. i work with some great nurses from the phillipines and some that are so-so and some that s%$k. i also work with nurses from the states that are all of the above. i just hope that we are not crippling our plight for better compensation by recruiting foriegn nurses. i don't think they should be offered great bonuses to come here when the nurses that are already here don't want to stay in floor nursing because of all the crap. i also don't feel that alot of scholarships should be offered in the u.s. to recruit nurses. if they gave us the pay, benefits, flexibility, etc., that we deserve people would want to enter the field and come in anyway. janet