With many hospitals and healthcare facilities in the U.S. continuing to experience nursing shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring international nurses has become one of the key strategies to offset the shortage. There are many qualified nurses from all over the world who are seeking nursing jobs in the U.S. and healthcare employers can directly hire international nurses or work with a technology company like JobGraze to help recruit foreign nurses.
It is important for hospitals and healthcare facilities to understand that hiring international nurses is not as simple as hiring nurses from the U.S. International nurses must meet certain credentials and complete testing to be eligible and they must also obtain the proper visa to be able to work in the U.S. Healthcare employers looking to bolster their nursing staff with international nurses must make sure that their candidates have completed the required testing and have gone through the immigration process.
Recruiting and hiring international nurses can be a complex process and because of this, it is common for healthcare employers and staffing agencies to make mistakes. In this guide, we explain the most common mistakes made when hiring international nurses that can make it difficult to recruit and integrate foreign nurses into the nursing staff. Understanding these common mistakes can help healthcare employers and staffing agencies avoid them for a more efficient recruiting and hiring process.
Hospitals and healthcare employers can also work with a professional like JobGraze who vets international nurses and connects employers to candidates who best fill the needs of their nursing staff.
Waiting Until You are Understaffed
When hospitals and healthcare facilities are understaffed, this can impact the quality of patient care and increase the risk of nurses experiencing burnout. Waiting until your facility is understaffed to recruit international nurses puts you at a disadvantage as it can take time to hire a foreign nurse and integrate them into your staff. Once the nurse arrives, they will go through a period of adjustment and need supervision and training to adapt to the working environment which can be difficult for hospitals who are already short-staffed to manage.
It is best to recruit foreign nurses before you become too short staffed to handle the training and integration of new nurses. You should also avoid rushing the recruitment process and take the time to evaluate each candidate to ensure that they have the skills, experience, and credentials to fill the position.
Inconsistent Recruiting of International Nurses
Recruiting and hiring international nurses should be part of an overall plan to ensure that your hospital or healthcare facility is staffed. With the high turnover rate in nursing, it is best for healthcare employers to consistently recruit international nursing candidates so that you have qualified nursing talent ready to step in when you experience turnover. Putting forth a consistent effort also helps avoid the first mistake of waiting until you are understaffed to look for help.
Failure to Properly Vet Credentials
International nurses must meet certain requirements to work in the U.S., including having a nursing license in their home country, nursing experience, English language proficiency, passing the NCLEX exam, and obtaining a work visa. It is very important to thoroughly vet nursing candidates to make sure they have the skills and credentials to be a valuable addition to your staff. Healthcare employers that do not properly vet credentials may hire someone who is unqualified.
Misunderstanding the Costs of Hiring International Nurses
Hiring and training international nurses involves an initial investment that many healthcare employers may believe is too costly. However, hiring international nurses actually saves costs in the long run as the initial investment is offset by low agency fees and improved retention rates. International nurses are also more cost-effective than temporary nurses who demand higher salaries and the higher retention rate ensures that you consistently provide a better quality of care.
Insufficient Support for Integration
As mentioned above, international nurses will go through an adjustment period once they start a new position. It is important for healthcare employers to provide sufficient support for international nurses so they can receive the training they need to seamlessly integrate into the nursing staff. Foreign nurses need time to understand the healthcare practices in the U.S. and adapt to the working environment within the hospital or healthcare facility.
Providing adequate support for foreign nurses helps improve their job performance and boost job satisfaction which leads to higher retention rates. If international nurses are not sufficiently supported when they first arrive, they may perform poorly or quickly leave the position.
Ignoring the Benefits of Cultural Diversity
Hiring international nurses not only benefits healthcare employers by bolstering their nursing staff, but also by increasing the cultural diversity of the staff. It is important for healthcare employers to recognize the benefits of a culturally diverse nursing staff as foreign nurses bring new skills and perspectives that can improve patient care. They can also build strong relationships with patients who share the same culture or speak their native language.
Healthcare employers should be aware of the cultural diversity that international nurses bring to their staff and create a supportive environment that promotes cultural awareness instead of ignoring it.
Related Read: Benefits of Hiring International Nurses
Failure to Consider the Immigration Process
The most complex and time-consuming part of the process for international nurses to become eligible to work in the U.S. is obtaining a visa. This process starts when foreign nurses who have completed their educational and credentialing requirements apply for a visa in the U.S. embassy in their home country. They will need to submit the required documents and wait to be called in for an interview before their visa can be approved. JobGraze can help foreign nurses navigate the immigration process.
It is important for foreign nurses to properly navigate the immigration process, including submitting all required materials and paying the required fees, or they could face challenges that will delay the process. Even if the process is navigated correctly, there still may be a delay if their visa applications are put in retrogression.
Healthcare employers must assess where international nursing candidates are in the immigration process and understand the challenges and delays they may face in obtaining their visa. You may also have to get involved in the immigration process for international nurses that have not yet obtained their visa, which means you need to have an understanding of how the process works. In some cases, it can take over a year for a foreign nurse to finally obtain their visa to work in the U.S.
Working with JobGraze to recruit international nurses can greatly benefit healthcare employers as we help foreign nurses navigate the immigration process to obtain their visa. Healthcare employers can use our platform to recruit and hire international nurses who are eligible to work in the U.S.
Recruit International Nurses with JobGraze
Recruiting and hiring international nurses can help hospitals, healthcare facilities and staffing agencies bolster their staff, improve retention rates and the quality of patient care, and save on labor costs in the long run. However, the process for recruiting and hiring international nurses is complex and there is always a chance you can encounter an issue that hinders the process. It is important for healthcare employers to avoid the mistakes discussed above to help streamline the hiring process and ensure you hire the most qualified candidates to fill your nursing positions. If you want to hire qualified foreign nurses without navigating the complex credentialing and immigration processes, you can work with JobGraze.
JobGraze is a technology company that helps foreign nurses navigate the process to become eligible to work in the U.S. and connects hospitals and other healthcare employers to qualified international nurses. Our platform allows healthcare employers to refine their search and identify the best candidates to fill their international nursing jobs. Through JobGraze, you can recruit international nurses who have already completed the process to obtain their visa and can accept a nursing position in the U.S.
At JobGraze, our extensive network consists of over 70,000 Registered Nurses with BSN degrees. We specialize in providing tailored staffing solutions by connecting you with international nurses who best fit your needs, and our employment guarantee ensures seamless replacements at no additional cost. With JobGraze, you can expect a remarkable 99% retention rate and enjoy annual savings exceeding $10.5 million per hospital.
Schedule a consultation today to explore how JobGraze can assist in securing qualified international nursing professionals for your healthcare facility.
