International nurses to fill staffing shortages

[NurseLy, BSN, RN]

We just recently heard that our hospital system is in the process of bringing international nurses in to help fill some of the staffing shortages.

We haven’t got a lot of information about how this program works or what it will look like yet. The nurses are able to work through this program to gain citizenship here in America is what I have heard. 

I don’t know what countries the nurses are coming from. We were told they will need some extra training, that the scope of practice for nursing is different — some may not give IV meds in their countries, some may not read telemetry, the EMR and equipment will be new to them, etc.

Have you experienced this in your hospital? Any specific things to consider? I am told I will be precepting an international nurse in a few months and I am curious as to what to expect. 

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

My hospital did this about a year before I became an employee. We had several Filipino nurses in the OR. They did need a good bit of orientation to how we do things, slightly longer than the standard nurse with OR experience, but less than the new to the OR nurse. They were contracted for a set number of years, and pretty much all of them moved on once the contracts were fulfilled. I believe due to the hospital sponsorship, their salaries were lower as well.

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

It all depends where they come from and the level of training they have. And how you welcome them.

In the UK we had lots of Indian and Filipino nurses who largely fitted in well and were well trained. Similarly most African nurses find they can work OK in the UK. We had a spate of Finnish and Swedish nurses who were largely very good but didn't stay long, treating their year or so in the UK as a working holiday. Ditto with nurses from Australia and New Zealand. Nurses from the developing world are more likely to want to immigrate permanantly and are a better bet for staying longer.

I moved to France as a UK trained nurse and didn't need any longer orientation than my French collagues. I'd never done an arterial stab for a blood gas in the UK - when I was confronted with it I asked to be shown, looked up the theory, asked for someone to supervise me and now it's an acquired skill. Herein lies the key - welcome your new colleagues with open arms, treat them well and they won't be scared to say, "I've never done this!" I was received very well here and nobody treated me as inferior or talked down to me, hence I integrated well and soon picked up the French way of doing things. If you see a foreign nurse doing something differently don't dismiss it out of hand. Be interested and ask "Why do you do it that way out of interest?"  and start a discussion. You may learn as much from them as they learn from you.

Here in France we import loads of Spanish and Portugese nurses. No problem. Some nurses from Eastern European Countries for example the former Soviet bloc, have a problem working independently as they're used to having a doctor behind them all the time telling them what to do and how to do it. Nursing assessment and nurse led intervention is more difficult for them. They often need longer to gain confidence but usually get there in the end.

Working with people from different corners of the globe is interesting and enriching. I hope you embrace the experience.