Program taps Chinese nurses to plug staffing shortages in the West
A young Chinese nurse boarded a flight on Aug 3 to start living her dream. The 25-year-old, who specializes in foreign nursing care, flew with seven other Chinese nurses to Stuttgart, Germany, to work at a residential care center for at least three years.
Xie Yanxi is one of the nurses benefiting from a program signed by China and Germany at the end of 2012. The program aimed to recruit 150 Chinese nurses in the following three years to work in Germany.
Faced with an aging society and a shortage of nurses, countries including Australia, Japan, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand have turned to Chinese healthcare professionals to help plug the gap.
The program marked the first time Germany recruited Chinese nurses, providing precious opportunities and possibly opening more of these for Chinese healthcare professionals who want to work in Europe.
"It has always been my dream to work as a nurse in the West. I'm finally realizing it," says Xie, who worked at a hospital in Guangdong province for two years after earning a bachelor's degree from Nanchang University.
Xie received the job offer last August. She then took an eight-month German-language course at the International Nurse Training Center run by Weihai International Economic and Technological Cooperative Co.
Xie paid 8,800 yuan ($1,408) for the language course, which will be reimbursed by the German organization she works for.
She also paid the Weihai company 25,000 yuan to help with employment matters such as arranging interview opportunities with German organizations and applying for visas.
Chinese nurses have to pass the German B1 level examination before applying for the relevant visas.
That is also why Wang Hao, a 24-year-old male nurse, is spending eight hours a day studying German at the Weihai training center.
Wang received an offer to work at a care center in Stuttgart in January. He started the language course in February.
"I value this opportunity. No matter how hard it is, I will try my best to master the language," Wang says.
He is also learning German culture and lifestyle.
Wang worked at a public hospital in Handan, Hebei province, after graduating from Hebei University last year.
He says the three-year overseas experience will give him better career opportunities.
"When I am back in China, I might get a chance to work in joint-venture hospitals where the salary is higher and the relationship between patients and medical staff is better," Wang says.
Wang says the deteriorating relationship between Chinese patients and nurses and the prejudice against nurses, especially male nurses, are some of the reasons why he wants to work in the West and learn from the experience.
Once in Germany, both Xie and Wang will first work as auxiliary staff for about half a year before taking the German nursing examinations. During this period, they will get a monthly salary of 1,900 euros ($2,545).
After passing the exams, they would work as fully qualified nurses for at least three years, drawing a monthly salary of 2,300 euros each.
Xie says the German organization has helped her rent a house, which will cost her 240 euros a month.
The first five nurses who left for Germany in January passed the nurses' examination held by German authorities in June, which means they can work as registered nurses in Germany, says Wang Zhuwen, operations director of the Weihai training center.
About 50 nurses are taking the German-language course at the Weihai training center. Most of them already have job offers.
Filling the void
Chinese nurses working overseas received positive feedback from their employers, says Marcel Schmutzler, a press officer with the German Federal Employment Agency's International Placement Services Department.
"They show high professionalism and ability in their interactions with patients," says Schmutzler
The nurses' grasp of German is similarly competent, as their patients said they can be understood by the nurses when they speak slowly, Schmutzler says.
According to the agency, there were 597,016 people working as nurses, first-aid personnel and midwives, and 470,301 people as healthcare workers in nursing homes in Germany by September 2013.
But demand for qualified nurses remains high. By May 2014, there were at least 9,179 vacancies for nurses, first-aid personnel and midwives in Germany. There were at least 8,990 vacancies for healthcare workers in nursing homes.
Shandong province, where the Weihai training center is located, sends about 50,000 workers overseas a year, most of whom work at overseas construction sites, garment factories and food-processing, farming and forestation projects.
"Over the years, we are upgrading our labor strategy by shifting from labor-intensive workers to skilled people like nurses," says Wu Jianguo, deputy director of the division of economic cooperation at Shandong's commerce department.
The Weihai company alone has sent more than 1,500 nurses overseas since 2005, Wang says.
But Australia has almost closed its doors to Chinese nurses, as the country requires a high level of language ability, which is difficult for Chinese nurses to achieve, Wang says.
"It's a win-win strategy to encourage nurses to work overseas. Many students are happy to have overseas experience, considering it a good way to broaden their horizons and become more competitive," Wang says.
Cao Huali has become a permanent resident in Australia, where she trains students majoring in nursing care at the University of Technology, Sydney.
"My two years working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia not only enriched my overseas experience but also enhanced my English-speaking ability, which laid a solid foundation for getting the chance to work in Australia," says the 36-year-old, who went to Saudi Arabia through the Weihai company in 1998.
Cao now earns about A$60 ($56) an hour and she has bought a house in Sydney.
Reflecting on her 16-year career overseas, Cao encouraged Chinese nurses to work overseas.
"In Australia, nurses focus on caring. Only when you focus on caring can you do the job well. Then you will be respected," Cao says.
Source: China Daily European Weekly 08/08/2014 page24
新形态2020