Indian Nurses to Solve Nursing "Shortage"

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

I don't know if this has been posted yet but I thought some would find it interesting.

http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2007/03/05/story3.html?jst=s_cn_hl

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Specializes in RN- Med/surg.

I don't think we HAVE a shortage! All over the country you read about new grads having trouble finding jobs.

And...as far as the phillapines (sp-sorry) being "tapped out"....not sure about that. I read alot of posts about nurses trying to get over here..and being stuck with waiting periods.

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Specializes in ICU, CCU, Trauma, neuro, Geriatrics.

There is no shortage of nurses worldwide, the shortage is licensed nurses willing to work under the conditions provided. Imported nurses are often appalled by the conditions they are expected to work under. We as nurses need to work towards a resonable nurse patient ratio and this should be unit based, an ICU should have no more than 1:2, a stepdown should have no more than 1:4, a med surg should have no more than 1:6. A nurse should have the energy to be a part of their family after an 8 or 12 hour workday not just collapse and wake up to attack the work day again the next day.

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AHHHHHH.....Here we go again! At least they put in the union blurb about not having a nursing shortage, just nurses willing to work in horrible places.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

What it doesn't say is there is a retrogression and no visas for nurses to come over. According to the visa bulletin nurses from India are going to have to wait 7years as it stands at the moment to come over and work, not many employers are going to be willing to wait that long. If you check out the International forum you will see many foreign nurses caught up and been waiting a couple years already. As mentioned previously as in most places there isn't a shortage of nurses but a shortage of nurses willing to work in present conditions

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Notice this article is in a business journal :rolleyes: -- of course it suits employers to carry on about a nursing "shortage," because it justifies their wish to import cheap labor from third world countries to keep nursing salaries and working conditions poor here.

I, too, was v. amused by the reference to the Philippines being "tapped out" -- guess they're not counting the 950,000 students currently in nursing programs, most of them, apparently (from what I read here), with the intention of using their education to leave the PI ASAP and go to the US, Canada, or EU.

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What we as a profession (OK I *will* be a nurse in a couple of years) need to be wary of is the following scenario: Big hospitals and hospital management companies go before Congress and testify that the nursing "shortage" is creating a "health crisis". Therefore, they need Congress to pass emergency legislation dramatically increasing the number of H1B Visas or temporary work permits available so they can "solve" the "crisis" by bringing lots of nurses from India and other countries.

This hasn't actually happened, of course. But it could, and that's what we need to be vigilant about. My husband worked in IT for many years, and many of those formerly-good-paying jobs are now considered to require much lower skills, in large part due to the influx of international workers. IT had the problem, of course, that firms could simply send the work itself out of the country, which hospitals can't do.

But I look at articles like the one above as something we shouldn't ignore or pooh-pooh.

My :twocents:.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
What we as a profession (OK I *will* be a nurse in a couple of years) need to be wary of is the following scenario: Big hospitals and hospital management companies go before Congress and testify that the nursing "shortage" is creating a "health crisis". Therefore, they need Congress to pass emergency legislation dramatically increasing the number of H1B Visas or temporary work permits available so they can "solve" the "crisis" by bringing lots of nurses from India and other countries.

This hasn't actually happened, of course. But it could, and that's what we need to be vigilant about. My husband worked in IT for many years, and many of those formerly-good-paying jobs are now considered to require much lower skills, in large part due to the influx of international workers. IT had the problem, of course, that firms could simply send the work itself out of the country, which hospitals can't do.

But I look at articles like the one above as something we shouldn't ignore or pooh-pooh.

My :twocents:.

Very few nurses qualify for H1b visas and haven't one for a few years, the only visas mainly open to nurses are GC and even then there is a limit for each country per year

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The article linked stated that the Indian nurses would be paid equivalent to their U.S. counterparts.

"Baheti and Bhagchandka declined to discuss wages, but said they pay their nurses about the same as nurses who are on (U.S.) hospital payrolls receive..."

Considering that Indian doctors receive about $20,000 a year in India, no wonder Indian nurses want to come here. They would be making 2-4 times the salary than a doctor back home.

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Specializes in neuro, ICU/CCU, tropical medicine.
Notice this article is in a business journal

Good catch!

I remember reading about this when I was working on my BSN. I think the best source of information on foreign nurses working in the U.S. comes from the ANA.

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Specializes in Burns, ICU, Plastic Surgery.

I don't want to be racist or mean but will these nurses speak english? Communication with patients is a huge part of nursing and how is it helpful if there's a communication barrier. Likewise, I want to know what education they recieve. In the article it even said the US has more advanced hospitals, which would be different equiptment, technology, drugs. I can't say that I could walk into an indian hospital and understand what I'm doing. I understand that they can learn and they have the pass tests to practice here, but still.

I recently called AOL about a technical problem with my computer. My call was directed to India. I ended up hanging up in frustration because I couldnt understand the technician.

I'm from Massachusetts and I can honestly say, "what nursing shortage???". :confused: I know several new grads who have trouble finding any RN jobs. The only openings seem to be in LTC. One friend who graduated last year applied to 10 hospitals in the area and didnt get a call back from a single one. It took her a year to get a job.

*Sigh* I guess to sum it up, I don't think we need nurses from other countries to supplement our "shortage". Especially when our own nurses cannot find jobs. :down:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
I don't want to be racist or mean but will these nurses speak english?

One of the requirements for foreign trained nurses who's first language is not English is a pass in a English exam IELTS/TOFEL etc. Sometimes though I have problems understanding people who's first language is English due to their accent

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