Moving overseas a job remedy for nurses

Nurse: Language a challenge for many

According to Lou Qinghong, manager of the Sino-US International Nurse Training Company, Chinese nurses are "newcomers" compared with nurses from English speaking countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and India, which have been the first choices for international employers.

The agency based in Beijing helps train Chinese nurses for employers in other countries.

"Finding jobs abroad is becoming popular among Chinese nurses. Many nursing schools have opened English nursing courses, and many training agencies like us are promoting programs for Chinese nurses to work abroad," he said.

"Back when we started the business in 2005, we saw US employers come to Beijing to interview nurses and promise to help them and their family members get green cards as long as the nurse meets the qualifications to work there," Lou noted.

The frenzy declined after 2009, when the United States stopped issuing employment visas for foreign nurses whose academic qualifications were lower than a bachelor's degree, but Lou emphasized his agency's business is "stable" since the demand by hospitals in other countries such as Singapore and Saudi Arabia remains strong.

According to him, some Chinese nurses used working abroad as a "springboard" to finally settle down there.

Judy Duan, 33, said that when she was as a contract worker in a public hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, from 2004 to 2007, her salary was less than 3,000 yuan ($490) a month, and her bonus and healthcare reimbursements were much lower than for "officially employed" colleagues.

In 2007, she passed the examination to become a registered nurse in Singapore and began to work there.

She worked in the long-term care unit in two hospitals and earned more than S$1,680 ($1,370) a month.