Union Nurses Support Move To Protect Foreign-Educated Nurses

WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Teachers today announced its support for a new voluntary code of conduct for healthcare organizations and recruiters to follow when recruiting foreign-educated nurses. The code—released by AcademyHealth—will serve as a great first step toward protecting the nurses from exploitation once they arrive in this country.

“All nurses who work in our hospitals should be treated fairly, with full worker rights. Any kind of employment abuse is simply unacceptable,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten.

AcademyHealth convened a task force comprised of unions (including AFT Healthcare), healthcare organizations, educational and licensure bodies, and recruiters to create the code. A study by the group found that foreign-educated nurses sometimes worked under questionable contracts and received threats related to their immigration status. On the flip side, some employers and recruiters cited examples where nurses had breached their contracts after receiving help with immigration and resettlement, the study showed. The code aims to ensure that the process by which foreign-educated nurses are recruited, and the way they are treated, once here, is ethical, accountable and transparent.

“While the code is an important step in the right direction, this does not mean that recruiting foreign-educated nurses should be seen as a solution to the current nurse shortage,” said AFT Healthcare program and policy council chair Candice Owley. “We continue to push for improved work environments and increased capacity for education in our own country as a means to recruiting and retaining nurses.” 

Owley said when nurses migrate to the United States it creates a devastating effect on the countries they leave behind, which suffer from their own nurse shortages and public health crises. She also said foreign nurses face possible abuse and exploitation once they are here, and that includes sub-standard pay or even physical and emotional abuse.

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