Survey: Should nurses from other countries be recruited to aid in the nursing shortag

Gromit · Jun 24, 2004

These nurses are not being given classes in medical English, nor in proper communication skills. Someone is just trying to make a fast buck and is essentially selling bodies, and that is not the way that it should be...
If the nurse does not have good communication skills, then she has no reason to be there working in the first place.
Were both Indian nurses from the same region, and from the same company?
That may your problem right there. Some locations in India have excellent English speakers, to a point that many American firms are having their phones answered off-shift by a company there and you would not even know that you were speaking to a foreigner.

Very true. I spent six years in spain, (learned castillian spanish, fluently reading/writing and speaking it, just to survive) and my fellow caregivers often don't seem to understand why I can't give a good translation, or teach effectively (I tell them, time and again) that I learned civilian, not medical, spanish. The same holds true with foreigners who come here and work. They may be great conversationalists outside the facility, but their medical english is often, well, tough to understand.

As for a nursing shortage -by default, we DO have one. But not like they would have us believe. By definition, nurses who refuse to work in hospitals, make a hospital that has a shortage of nurses. The solution really should be for the hospitals to take better care of the nurses. All of the facilities I've worked in (4 total so far, over the years) seem to be more willing to hire an agency nurse for half-again the pay (which means they pay the agency well over twice what they pay a hospital nurse), and make regular contracts with them, before they will increase their own nurses pay, or improve their conditions.

I like overtime -especially when I'm saving for something, but to mandate it does little more than foster animosity toward the hospital. It ruins what social lives we have, affects our families, and makes an already tired employee just plain dread the rest of the shift.

Then they wonder why people don't want to be there.

Thankfully, for my part, I don't feel this way. I love where I work, but I do understand why those who don't, feel the way they do.

suzanne4, RN · Jun 24, 2004

Medical English is a must....................

Being able to take report over the telephone is another needed subject.

Being able to give report over the telephone..............

American idioms...............

as you can see, my list could go on and on..... :balloons:

LadyBugRN · Jun 27, 2004

Yes, I think that there is a shortage of nurses in this country. In my own personal opinion, nurses are caring, but not all of them. I find that foreign graduate nurses put a lot in caring for their patients and I find some nurses who do care at all about their patients but overwhelmed with non-nursing tasks, and cannot give the care they intend to give. It is ok to do non-nursing tasks if there is time.

helana · Jun 28, 2004

This month's survey Question:
Should nurses from other countries be recruited to aid in the nursing shortage?
Please take a minute to take answer our survey and please feel free to reply to this topic to post any comments that you may have on the topic.

hey everybody,

i strongly agree to recruits nurses from other counteries to help in the shortage of nurses.i like working with nurses from other areas of the world because u'll get new ideas and experiences from them,on the other hand,i think we need them to cover the shortage in the practice areas due to resignation of the our nurses.:balloons:

Gromit · Jun 28, 2004

One of the problems I have with it, however, is that the hospitals that hire them, often give them pretty lousy, yet iron-clad contracts -this weakens the strength of all of us. If you can get foreign help on the cheap, and lower the benefits and quality of environment for the foreign nurses (which to many of them, its still much better than they had back home) then it will stand to reason that in order to keep OUR job, or get ahead, we too, will have to lower our own, in order to compete. That, to me, is a steb backward for us, and a step ahead for the company that owns the hospitals.

suzanne4, RN · Jun 28, 2004

One of the problems I have with it, however, is that the hospitals that hire them, often give them pretty lousy, yet iron-clad contracts -this weakens the strength of all of us. If you can get foreign help on the cheap, and lower the benefits and quality of environment for the foreign nurses (which to many of them, its still much better than they had back home) then it will stand to reason that in order to keep OUR job, or get ahead, we too, will have to lower our own, in order to compete. That, to me, is a steb backward for us, and a step ahead for the company that owns the hospitals.

That was happening on temporary work permits, not with a green card, unless they went with an unscrupulous agency. And if they think that something sounds too good to be true before they sign the contract, and they go ahead and sign it, then it is their own fault. There are no quick fixes to get to the US to work legally as a nurse, and if someone thinks that there is, then they deserve what they get. And unfortunately for them, those three year contracts can actually last about 5 years........... :uhoh21:

Gromit · Jun 28, 2004

That was happening on temporary work permits, not with a green card, unless they went with an unscrupulous agency. And if they think that something sounds too good to be true before they sign the contract, and they go ahead and sign it, then it is their own fault. There are no quick fixes to get to the US to work legally as a nurse, and if someone thinks that there is, then they deserve what they get. And unfortunately for them, those three year contracts can actually last about 5 years........... :uhoh21:

true, but it still has the same effect on us.

Besides, what we would considder a lousy contract is often like a goldmine to some of these foreign nurses. I'll never forget this other nurse I met at my last facility -she was from Romania- and she was looking at some of the old equipment we had (cardiac monitors -but these monitors were ancient, often didn't work reliably, and well, you know, old equipment) and was ooohing and aahhhing over how modern and fancy our stuff was (new equipment was, thankfully, on the way). At first, I thought she was joking, but she was dead serious. Then I found out some of the terms of her contract. I said nothing, but the look on my face must have said it for me. She told me that it was far better than what she had "back home" (and it was ONLY for 3 years).

alexsb1116 · Jun 28, 2004

yes, at least if they prove themeselves worthy of being called rn's through passing the nclex/cgfns (etc, etc...), they will become productive members of the american society.

unlike some people who come to the united states, can't speak a word of english (which is fine), but what gets me is those that don't even try. :angryfire stay on government assisted living for a couple of years and ohhh, maybe have quite a few number of kids for tax deduction and welfare purposes.....(some have admitted to doing it on purpose too) :angryfire they are just plain playing with the system.:angryfire

while we hard-working people suffer and don't get the tax-breaks they do. etc, etc, etc....:angryfire

everyone knows what i mean. i'm sure y'all have encountered these types. :uhoh3:

Gromit · Jun 28, 2004

yes, at least if they prove themeselves worthy of being called rn's through passing the nclex/cgfns (etc, etc...), they will become productive members of the american society.
unlike some people who come to the united states, can't speak a word of english (which is fine), but what gets me is those that don't even try. :angryfire
everyone knows what i mean. i'm sure y'all have encountered these types.

i dissagree. it is not "fine". you go to another country, don't speak the language, and get a job. see how far it gets you. i may be off-base here, but i know when i was overseas in the '70s, and very early'80s, you were "sol" if you didn't speak the language. you had better learn damn quick!

over here in the us, however, its not p.c. to have english speaking as a requirement. hello? to me, thats just rediculous. i don't expect someone who can speak flawlessly, but at least have a working knowledge. bad enough that your co-workers can't understand you, but how to you interact with the patients?

no, its not fine. not by a longshot.

sorry, but it really is a pet-peeve of mine (does it show?)

alexsb1116 · Jun 28, 2004

I dissagree. It is NOT "fine".
No, its not fine. Not by a longshot.
Sorry, but it REALLY IS a pet-peeve of mine (does it show?)

My mistake. I should have compared between two evils. Those that try and those that don't.

Plus I was trying to be nice and not to offend anyone (this is after all an International board). YES, that is the biggest pet-peeve (we are on the same wavelenght) when you know they are sucking benefits from the american people's health care system yet they don't even try to understand the language and all they ask for immediately is an interpreter. :angryfire Why do we have to learn their language when they are the ones that come to the United States anyway? They can easily learn ours.

I'm being a bit of tangent, I think, so I'll leave it at that.

Nemrac · Jun 28, 2004

This article was just in the paper on Sunday. Very timely and very related to this discussion....

http://www.sltrib.com/2004/jun/06272004/business/179035.asp

Gromit · Jun 28, 2004

This article was just in the paper on Sunday. Very timely and very related to this discussion....
http://www.sltrib.com/2004/jun/06272004/business/179035.asp

Wow, timely is RIGHT. It concerns nearly all of the topics on this thread!

Excellent find.