In February, South Dakota officials approved the state’s first registered nursing apprenticeship program through Huron Regional Medical Center. The apprenticeship is designed to attract English-as-a-second language nurses into the field, Sioux Falls Live reported May 7.
The program was started by Norma Torres Ortiz, RN, a travel nurse contracted with Avera Health who works part time at the Huron Regional Medical Center. Ms. Ortiz is originally from Puerto Rico where she worked as a nurse. When she moved to the U.S., she found herself struggling to pass the NCLEX and find a nursing job due to language barriers. So she quit her job to study English more.
She told Live it’s a common problem for many international nurses who wish to practice in the U.S. Many end up working in factories or cleaning houses while they study English and work on finding a job.
It’s a missed opportunity, Ms. Ortiz told Live, as healthcare systems across the country suffer a nursing shortage.
Large systems are building international nursing programs that recruit and hire nurses through work visas; however, smaller systems don’t have the funds to hire large numbers of international nurses through an agency.
This is where a nurse apprenticeship program can fill the gap. Huron Regional Medical Center launched its practical nursing apprenticeship in 2018. Apprentices start the program by taking a medical language course for English language learners, enroll in the licensing exam preparation class and train alongside nurses at the system. The program allows the system to tap into the market outside of traditional college pipelines.
The system estimated it costs between $25,000 and $50,000 in total cost per apprentice, depending on how long they shadow staff members. But the expenses are covered through the hospital or state funding. For leaders at Huron Regional, it’s worth the cost.
“We’re trying to make our workforce reflect our community population,” Brooke Sydow, program manager for the health system, told Live. “So that’s a big piece of it: helping the community feel more connected and at home, so we have practitioners, providers and nurses who are the same as them.”
