The JoongAng Ilbo reports the Human Resource Development Service of Korea, HRS Global of the United States and New York’s St. John’s Riverside Hospital will soon sign a deal to employ 10,000 Korean nurses at 36 hospitals throughout New York state. The nurses will start at interns, making 25 U.S. dollars an hour.
So if you’re Korean, a nurse, and have wanted to go to the United States, your ship has come in.
According to HRS Global, the nurses would automatically join the New York state nurses union, with their work conditions and the like guaranteed. If they can pass an English exam within one year of their employment, they’ll also be able to get permanent residency in the United States. The Human Resource Development Service of Korea will provide free English classes for the nurses for three months prior to their departure.
The United States is apparently short of nurses. About 300,000 short, to be more precise, and U.S. authorities are leaving the immigration door pretty wide open for anyone with nursing skills. The U.S. immigration reform bill excludes nurses from yearly immigration quotas.
With more and more Koreans looking to immigrate to the United States for education, 1,731 Koreans sat for the NCLEX-RN (the U.S. nursing qualification exam) last year, the third most behind the Philippines and India. Over 6,000 Koreans have reportedly earned their U.S. nursing qualifications, but according to one official, only 320 Korean nurses found employment at U.S. hospitals over the last four years. This is because most have yet to pass the English test required for employment.
HRS Global explained that while the language issue may have made it difficult for Korean nurses to find employment in the past, the new program, which allows the nurses a full year after employment to pass the English test, would largely resolve this problem. It also explained that since New York state alone still needs another 20,000 nurses, as long as aspiring nurses speak English, there are plenty of opportunities for employment.
This deployment of Korean labor, BTW, is one of the largest in recent Korean history. During the 1960s and 1970s, Korea sent about 10,000 nurses and 8,000 miners to Germany, and in the 1980s, about 100,000 Koreans worked on construction projects throughout the Middle East.
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This is also happening in Canada. I believe that the figures in my home province of BC indicate something like 80% of qualified nursing graduates from the province’s largest university immigrate within one year to the US to work.
Make no mistake: St. John’s Riverside Hospital will be THE HUB of Korean nurses in the Greater New York area.
There will probably be many happy male patients at these hospitals with the influx.
Not to be drammatic but this is serious health issue in the U.S. There has been an ongoing shortage of RNs in the U.S.and Korean nurses would be a godsend to many hospitals in the U.S. that are chronically understaffed. My mother was telling me about this very shortage a year or so and why it was of great concern to many hospitals. I never thought that Korea would be helping in that respect but it is a great benefit to all.
Loves it.
Let me note for the record (and for anyone who might be Google searching this) that Ansan College has a very good nursing program.
25 bux an hour?!? How is that possible. No way. Isn’t that more than what a frikken medical residents get? I don’t believe it.
I wanted to leave a comment for any Korean nurses who might be reading this blog about this alleged program.
I have conducted research on this program since it violates many precepts of US immigration law, and I would like to encourage any nurses considering this program to do the same.
First, Neither HRD, HRS Global, or Riverside Healthcare has yet to secure J Visa permission from the Department of State.
For those of you unfamiliar with the J Visa process, an organization that wishes to sponsor J visa exchange persons much apply and be recognized by the department of state. The process is long and drawn out and there are statutory bars to persons working in jobs that are designated for full time workers (such as nurses).
I encourage any nurse considering this program to contact the Department of State to verify this fact at:
United States Department of State
Office of Exchange Coordination and Designation
ECA/EC/PS - SA-44, Room 734
301 4th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20547
Telephone: (202) 203-5096
Fax: (202) 203-5087
You can also contact the American Consulate Non-immigrant Visa section at 02-397-4230 and ask about this program.
Second, contrary to the news articles, the New York Nursing Union is not supporting this plan. The purpose of the union is to improve the working conditions for its members. Why would a union endorse a plan that would effectively reduce wages for its members? Additionally, nursing unions are opposed to any nurses working without proper credentials.
I would encourage any nurse with questions to contact the union via their website at: http://www.nysna.org/
There are many other flaws with this plan, but I want to keep the issues to ones that nurses can independently verify. I would recommend before paying money to any agency or person that you look to these two sites. Also, if you want an independent opinion, go to http://www.aila.org and be referred to an immigration attorney that will provide an initial consultation and will be able to answer your questions.
Loftliving202 offers lots of good advice.
I can only offer advise that I have been witness:
1. If you come to the USA make sure your contract states you can break out without a huge penalty. Make sure that if there is a penalty every USD is explained in writing and who to pay.
2. Before you leave SK ask recruiter for the name and phone number of your hospital and the person responsible for your case. SPEAK WITH THEM. It may be that they don’t know you or worse you were never going there at all. Some recruiters can be honest, most are not at all.
3. If your recuiter tells you that you will get a specific or special unit or shift make sure they write it in the contract.
4. If you think you cannot speak English do not believe that you will go where the recruiter will say. You may go to some place else where you can practice more and you may not get into a hospital.
5. Check out the health coverage and how many times it changes over a year or two. I have learned that it is very expensive to have and worse if you do not have since medical coverage is not a community health system. If you or your children or husband gets sick then it can cost too much money and you will be frightened to even go to the doctor without health insurance. It is a must have, but too expensive.
6. Make sure that you ask in the contract to write down all of the paid benefits like the number of sick days, personal days, vacation days, holidays, and how it is given to you. Ask them if you get over time for all of these days or just a precious few.
7. If you must pass IELTS will they pay for your class? Find out exactly what you will have to pay for like books? What do they really mean by FREE?
8. Ask your recruiter how many attorneys they have and for how long. Not all attorneys know all parts of immigration law. They can get confused if they are not specifically trained for immigration and this can cause you and your family to be in big trouble. Not all Korean speaking attorneys are good. You must ask for recommendations from others who have success story. You must ask if you can use your own attorney and if employer will pay.
9. I don’t know about J visa but I140 to I485 is ok if you know about time limits to get IELTS and visa screen for greencard. The big problem is not passing IELTS in time. Without it you may have more legal bills to retry applications. Ask who pays these legal bills if you fail IELTS because you may not get enough time to study due to work!
10. Before you come to US you must practice English and have a lot of money in your account in case something should happen. $10,000.oo USD is not enough if you get a temporary loss of status.
11. Be prepared to find someone to watch your children. When you arrive become friendly in church. Ask the pastor and members for help. The US is a different place. You must have someone watch your children if you get over time and must stay. It could happen and in the US certain places have strict laws about minimum age for children to be left alone.
12. Make sure if you pay a recruiter that you get a receipt. Make sure that it is attached and signed to your contract which expains that you cannot be sold to a different company. If they cannot find you a job then you do not have to stay with them or pay a penalty.
13. Learn to drive. Get a car. Except for big cities the buses and trains are poor compared to Seoul. They are dirty and never arrive on time. Traveling to and back from the hospital can be too difficult and take too much time away from your family and rest.
14. Some agencies are not bad, others are not good. It is better to have a relative sponsor you, not to go through a government program. They are not out to sell nurses.
I hope not to ruin dreams but help them not be nightmare.
I forgot to tell about the word MANDATE. This means you must stay for next shift if a nurse cannot come in.
It is good to help and make more money but if you cannot because you do not have someone to watch your children then you must say to supervisor. Do not take keys. Do not take shift change if you are to put your family in danger.
A good idea is to let supervisors know when you can stay and when you cannot stay in the beginning of when you work at the hospital. This way they know you want to help your co-workers but cannot always be the one to stay.
ALSO, vacation schedule is very strange. You must ask at least one month in advance for special days. If you are not senior nurse better to ask two months in advance. You may get the days off.
America is a good place and great to learn nursing techniques and new medical ideas but they are short on help and this can make a new learner tired.
New Nurses Be Ware at next HRD recruitment. Be careful of companies that changes names or old faces with new names and new agencies. Many are coming back. Buying nurses is how they make big money. Ask your recruiter where they worked and for how long. Ask them the name of their work places and history. WTR, Global, Xtreme, Healthpro have cautions but not all good and not all bad. Nurses must be own advocate and check out promises.