International
Recruitment of Health Care Personnel: How It Works
by Jennifer (Jay) Sherwood, BScN, MEd., HEALTHbeat,
April 2002 issue
In this issue of Healthbeat, we decided to focus on International
recruitment of health care personnel. We chose several companies
that advertise with us and talked to a spokesperson from each
to get a bit more information about their services and the special
things that they do for their clients, both candidates and employers.
I am taking this opportunity to thank each of the people who
participated in a half hour interview and shared their information
so generously.
The short
written piece about each of the organizations is a combination
of information gleaned from the interview and their respective
web sites.
Procare
USA is a national healthcare staffing company specializing
in placing American RNs and LPNs and Canadian RNs on travel
assignments primarily in acute care hospitals throughout the
United States. The company, a leader in the industry, particularly
as it refers the placement of Canadian RNs, was established
in 1990. It has immigration and licensing specialists on staff.
This is
a company that specializes in Travel Nursing. I asked Scott
O'Carroll, the 'guru' of recruiting travel nurses what the
term means. He told me that it refers to nurses who take 13-26
week assignments because they have an interest in traveling
to different locations and experiencing life there. Travel
nursing offers unique opportunities to live and work in new
places and expanding professional experience. Employers use
travel nurses for a variety of reasons. These include the
need for short-term replacements for maternity leaves; education
leaves, opening new departments, flu season and the general
inability to get qualified nurses due to shortages.
Canadian
nurses like other can find the immigration experience stressful.
O'Carroll is very aware of the stress because he too immigrated
to the USA from Ireland. He says that his experience has made
him truly sensitive to the needs of the nurses he recruits.
Procare
is an agency for both employers and nurses. For the nurse
the process starts with the application and continues throughout
the assignment. O'Carroll says that Procare looks after everything
for the nurse including housing, setting up the phone, assisting
with the immigration of the family members and helping the
nurse with employment issues. Sometimes the nurse will want
to remain in an area for more than the 13-26 weeks of the
assignment. If this is the case, O'Carroll or other staff
at Procare will establish 'cluster' assignments in a given
area. Travel nursing can also lead to permanent relocation.
Canadian
nurses who are placed by Procare USA
have on average up to 10 years experience. Procare coordinates
all the necessary licensure, pre-employment requirements and
relocation arrangements. These include housing and assistance
with Green Card or work/entry status for nurses and their
families.
For more
information:
Website: www.procareusa.com
Phone: 1-800-877-6785
Fax: 1-866-675-8488
Email: procare@procareusa.com
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