Riverside, California, United States
With increased globalization, more hospitals world-wide are adopting western medical practices. Cultural differences, lack of language proficiency, and differences in work roles and practices contribute to the challenges facing a foreign-born nurse interested in working in western-style health care settings.
The Global Nursing Review Program (GNRP) is a new cooperative program developed by the International Education Programs (IEP) at the University of California, Riverside, and COPE Health Solutions (COPE) to help nurses who have been schooled in another country. The program is designed to help foreign-born nurses succeed in a health care setting where English is spoken as well as to help them pass the NCLEX-RN, the test required of most nurses.
"Many American hospitals are becoming reluctant to hire foreign-born nurses," said Dr. Jesus Oliva, of COPE. "Although they have passed the NCLEX-RN, they often don't understand the culture of American hospitals and have trouble communicating effectively with medical personnel and patients. This program is designed to remedy that problem and to help nurses who want to work in other countries that follow western medical practices."
The GNRP program is initially being offered by UC Riverside and begins on March 26, 2008. In the next few years, it may also be offered by UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Los Angeles, members of the University of California Extension Consortium for Global Partnerships.
"We hope it will be eventually offered at the other campuses in the next few years," said IEP Interim Director Charlene Pratt.
The 21-month program consists of nine months of academic studies at UC Riverside, followed by a 12-month paid work experience in a California hospital. In the first nine months, students learn about the philosophy and practice of nursing in the United States, prepare for the NCLEX-RN examination, develop an extensive working vocabulary of medical terminology and intern in a California hospital. Following successful completion of the GNRP and the NCLEX-RN exam, students will have one year of training as a nurse in a hospital in California. Program participants will be paid the same salary as an American nurse with academic background and experience, approximately $40,000 to $50,000 per year.
"When I came to the U.S. from Brazil, where I had been a nurse for six years, I had to find out the hard way how to finally get employed here," says Eliane Marks, who has now been an R.N. in the U.S. for eight years. "It took me almost two years and endless and frustrating calls to friends and acquaintances, to the Board of Nursing, to lawyers, to testing organizations, and finally to potential sponsors who would hire me so I could get a working permit. Even after I finally got a job, I still had to adjust to the different culture and methodologies of being a nurse in this country."
According to Marks, who did her language training at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), "If I had had a chance to enroll in the Global Nursing Review Program, I wouldn't have hesitated to take it. This program is a fantastic bridge to the road to success."
A 2004 study by the Immigration Policy Center, a research arm of the American Immigration Law Foundation, reported that 11.5 percent of the registered nurses working in the United States were foreign-born, and it anticipated that the proportion would grow as the nation continues to struggle with shortages of health care workers. The California Employment Development Department says the state will need to hire 10,910 new nurses annually through 2014.
COPE, a nonprofit health care organization, has partnerships with hospitals, health systems, clinics and government entities, as well as numerous colleges and universities.
Since 1975, International Education Programs (IEP) at UCR has provided a wide variety of year-round English language programs, academic programs and certificate and diploma programs for international students and professionals. IEP's English program is one of the largest in the United States and has brought more than 50,000 students from more than 100 countries to Riverside.
For specific information on GNRP, call 951-827-4346, e-mail GNRP@ucx.ucr.edu, go online to http://www.iep.ucr.edu/Nurse_Program.html or write GNRP-IEP UCR, 1200 University Ave., Riverside, CA 92507.
For further information on English language and other professional programs, e-mail ucriep@ucx.ucr.edu, go online to http://www.iep.ucr.edu or write IEP UCR, 1200 University Ave., Riverside, CA 92507.
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Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)