Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Dec 08, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Dec 08, 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
Home Page
-
Human Resources Industry & Economy - Health Nursing ambitions? The US beckons Nina Varghese
Chennai , Dec. 7 THE demand for nurses in the US has set off another migration from India. The attraction is higher wages, better life style and above all the green card— not only for the nurse, but also for her family too. US Consulate officials confirm that nurses and teachers can get immigrant visas for themselves and their families. This has led to a mushrooming of recruiting companies in India — some reputable, some not. The shortage is mainly because of the aging population and an aging medical work force in the US, where health care jobs are not seen as an attractive career option. Mr Vijay D.Khatri of Canway Immigration Consultants Ltd, an Indian Government-approved immigrations and settlement company, says that Canway represents 500 hospitals in the US and the nurses recruited by the company could be placed in these hospitals. The selected nurses will have to appear for two tests — the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The recruitment companies also coach the candidates. At present, there are examination centres in Kochi and Bangalore. Some of the recruitment agencies such as Canway and Nurses Anytime, offer a number of free services like air ticket to the US, relocation of spouse or immediate family to the US, visa documentation and immigration filings, green card processing, post-landing services and a refund of the CGFNS and IELTS fee. Ms Revathi Sunkara, Director Operations of the Bangalore-based Nurses Anytime, says that around 400 nurses have signed up with the company. Typically these nurses get a US job in about 18-months time. The first batch from Nurses Anytime is to leave shortly. "Nurses Anytime invests $10,000 (approximately Rs 4,58,000) in each of these candidates and the company gets paid by the hour when these nurses start working," Ms Sunkara said. While the nurses are "definitely competent" in terms of nursing skills, learning to speak in English is the hard part of it, as most of them come with no training in the language, Ms Sunkara said. For years, Indian nurses have been going aboard, but mostly to the Gulf countries. "Those who left for the Gulf went to save money and get back home; but those who are going to the US will stay on there," says Ms Elisabeth, who is waiting for her call.
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|