What is a "foreign-trained nurse"?

lindarn · Jan 15, 2010

Foreign nurses are hired because hospital admionistration wants cheap labor who will not complain.

They petition congress to bring in foreign nurses to undermine the strength of the American nursing labor pool.

That is it in a nutshell.

JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

mamamerlee, LPN · Jan 15, 2010

There are other threads on this topic. Many years ago, in the 70's, many large hospitals literally imported nurses, frequently from the Phillipines, to fill vacancies. They were frequently given housing and other benefits for shorter wages. At that time, they were also given English proficiency exams, and had to also pass the boards in order to get a license.

They usually had a 2 or 3 year contract. Some had families back home, including husbands and children. Some were single. Just like everyone else. And just like many other nurses back then, some were looking for their "MRS" degree, as opposed to a 'BSN' !!!

I worked with many of these nurses, and they ran the gamut, just like the rest of the staff. I think the biggest issue was their accents - even if they could understand English, written and spoken, they were frequently hard to understand.

I am not against any one coming here of their own free will; however, I personally believe that if there is just one 'American' nurse who wants to work but can't find a job, then we should not be recruiting foreign nurses.

UKRNinUSA, RN · Jan 15, 2010

"Foreign-trained (although I prefer the word educated) nurse" here. I came over in the early 90's when there was a nursing shortage, but had to pass the NCLEX first. I was underpaid, compared to American nurses, until I finished my initial contract. I was recruited through a nursing registry, who wined and dined us and tried to get us to sign our employment contracts after we had consumed large amounts of alcohol.

I came over here because I needed a change and had itchy feet and stayed because I couldn't bear to leave the CA weather. Nursing is one of the few jobs that gives you a passport to the world and I took advantage of that.

applern · Jan 15, 2010

There are other threads on this topic. Many years ago, in the 70's, many large hospitals literally imported nurses, frequently from the Phillipines, to fill vacancies. They were frequently given housing and other benefits for shorter wages. At that time, they were also given English proficiency exams, and had to also pass the boards in order to get a license.
They usually had a 2 or 3 year contract. Some had families back home, including husbands and children. Some were single. Just like everyone else. And just like many other nurses back then, some were looking for their "MRS" degree, as opposed to a 'BSN' !!!
I worked with many of these nurses, and they ran the gamut, just like the rest of the staff. I think the biggest issue was their accents - even if they could understand English, written and spoken, they were frequently hard to understand.
I am not against any one coming here of their own free will; however, I personally believe that if there is just one 'American' nurse who wants to work but can't find a job, then we should not be recruiting foreign nurses.

I am not a foreign-trained nurse. Born and raise in Washington DC. I think you need to understand that we all have our way of speaking. no two persons speak alike. many times people have told me that I speak with an accent. so Miss or Mr. Nurse with no accent. Most of these foreign nurses speak, write and command english better than most of us. Please answer the thread an stop diverting the issue at hand. Did they teach you cultural diversity in school? How would you care for a patient who do not speak the way you speak?

Yes I strongly agree that something needs to be done about employing foreign trained nurse over nurses who spend a lot of money going to nursing school in America.

RNnbakes · Jan 15, 2010

Did you read any of the threads on the international forum? I think some of your questions would have been answered just by reading a couple.

I keep reading about "foreign-trained nurses". Is that someone who trains in another country, but has to pass the nursing tests in the USA? Or do they just get to use the license they earned overseas?
Do they provide a lot of competition for jobs against American nurses, or are they not very numerous in the labor pool?
After I get my BSN, I was wondering if I would have to worry about competing with foreign-trained nurses?
I've been reading that some nurses feel foreign-trained nurses work for less money; I'm not sure if it's true or not, and this is not my personal view; I just keep seeing nurses post about it on the Internet.
ONCE AGAIN, FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO JUMP ON THE CHANCE TO TAKE OFFENSE, THIS IS NOT MY PERSONAL VIEW. I AM ONLY REPEATING WHAT I HAVE READ FROM NURSES ON SITES LIKE INDEED.COM ON THE INTERNET. PLEASE DO NOT FLAME ME. Thanks.
With the unemployment rate what it is, I am concerned and I want to know the truth about all the factors.
This is not a post against immigration; I just want to know the actual situation out there.
I am also curious about why we import nurses when so many American nurses can't find work? It seems like the government would limit the work visas in this recession? Are the nurses typically moving here just for the jobs, or moving here for other reasons and then taking the nursing job?
Sorry if these are naive questions. Thanks!

chelynn · Jan 15, 2010

I am not a foreign-trained nurse. Born and raise in Washington DC. I think you need to understand that we all have our way of speaking. no two persons speak alike. many times people have told me that I speak with an accent. so Miss or Mr. Nurse with no accent. Most of these foreign nurses speak, write and command english better than most of us. Please answer the thread an stop diverting the issue at hand. Did they teach you cultural diversity in school? How would you care for a patient who do not speak the way you speak?
Yes I strongly agree that something needs to be done about employing foreign trained nurse over nurses who spend a lot of money going to nursing school in America.

You are taking this way too personally. A fact was stated. Foreigners are hard to understand. Don't make this into something it's not.

mamamerlee, LPN · Jan 15, 2010

AppleRN - - I have worked in 5 states and a foreign country, myself. My Philly accent was a cause for humor everywhere I worked, especially in New Orleans, where the accents are varied and frequently very thick. Not to mention the Cajuns, whose language is a mixture of French and English with a Southern drawl.

Back in the 70's, the PATIENTS regularly complained that they couldn't understand the Phillipino nurses. Report was sometimes tedious. And the Phillipinas frequently spoke to each other in their native language (Tagalog?) in the nurses' station, leaving the rest of us out of the loop.

In over 30 years of nursing, I have worked with the elite and the illiterate, the multi-lingual and the trash-talkers. 'Cultural diversity' is something I grew up with in inner-city Philly. I have taken care of the blind, the deaf, the uneducated, infants and elderly who never learned English. No one has ever even insinuated that I didn't try to make the patients or their families aware of what was going on. I know when to use feces, and when to use poop.

Back on the topic, at this time, there are many 'Americans' who have become afraid of foreign nurses and doctors. I am not saying this is correct, I am merely pointing out an issue, like I did with the language barrier.

firefox828 · Jan 15, 2010

There are other threads on this topic. Many years ago, in the 70's, many large hospitals literally imported nurses, frequently from the Phillipines, to fill vacancies. They were frequently given housing and other benefits for shorter wages. At that time, they were also given English proficiency exams, and had to also pass the boards in order to get a license.
I worked with many of these nurses, and they ran the gamut, just like the rest of the staff. I think the biggest issue was their accents - even if they could understand English, written and spoken, they were frequently hard to understand.
I am not against any one coming here of their own free will; however, I personally believe that if there is just one 'American' nurse who wants to work but can't find a job, then we should not be recruiting foreign nurses.

nothing against... i am foreign-born; english is not my first language, but went to nursing school here in the US. years ago, my husband (native-born) and i went out-of-state to visit a friend... stopped by a restaurant to eat. we asked for some directions, and i asked my husband if he knows where we're going. he gave me a look, and said, "i didn't understand half of what he said." the gentleman had a heavy accent, too; and an american.

rn/writer, RN · Jan 15, 2010

Please, stay on the topic of defining the term "foreign-trained nurse" and take discussions about accents and other issues to another thread.

Thanks.

rn/writer, RN · Jan 15, 2010

A "foreign-trained nurse" is simply anyone who trained in a country other than the one in which they are working. I would be a "foreign-trained nurse" in Ireland or Australia.

In the US, nurses who we educated in other countries have to pass the NCLEX and may have to take English-proficiency tests as well. There are also stringent immigration rules to comply with, so training in another country with the thought of working as a nurse in the US is, by no means, a guaranteed route to success.

Not sure what other parts of the world require, but I'm fairly certain that each country has hurdles that a "foreign-trained nurse" would have to jump in order to be licensed to work there.