It’s the ‘best feeling of my life,’ says Penn State Health international nurse
Philippines native Arvin Ray Langurayan has dreamed of coming to the United States since childhood, when he watched American Christmas movies and was awed by the way of life portrayed – and the snow.
His dream came true when Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center offered him a position. More than 300 other international nurses will come from other countries to work at Holy Spirit Medical Center, Hampden Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center and Hershey Medical Centers in 2023 and 2024 and stay for a minimum of three years.
“Coming here was probably the best feeling I ever felt in my life,” said Langurayan, who became a nurse in 2012 and worked in the emergency department of a hospital in his home country until a friend encouraged him to apply for a U.S. nursing job in 2019. “I believe this job will give me a very bright future.”
After delays due to the COVID-19 epidemic, he was able to successfully take the U.S. nursing license requirements and state board of nursing requirements, and started working at Holy Spirit in October.
Partnership ensures quality candidates
Penn State Health Human Resources is working with a top nursing recruitment agency, ConneticsUSA, that has implemented a rigorous vetting process for the international nurses, who all have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, at least one year of experience and speak English.
The effort to bring the nurses here stems from the national nursing shortage and awareness of the unprecedented stress this has put on Penn State Health nursing teams, as well as the high cost of agency nurses.
“The nursing shortage is still really hitting us,” said Samantha Miluski, strategic human resources business partner at Holy Spirit and Hampden medical centers. “These international nurses are the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The international nursing program also makes Penn State Health’s clinical operations stronger and serves to reinforce its commitment to inclusivity, including improving the ability to serve international cultures, leaders say.
The nurses come from the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates. Penn State Health nurse managers interview them via Zoom and, if they decide to offer the nurses a job, Penn State Health helps with the administrative costs to live and work in the U.S.
“Starting a new job is hard, but starting a new job in a new country takes courage,” Miluski said.
Team offers warm welcome
Staff mounted a true team effort to help Langurayan get acclimated. Tina Fitzgerald, director of recruitment, and Kristen Mariani, Emergency Department nurse manager at Holy Spirit Medical Center, pitched in to obtain donated furniture for his apartment, shop for needed items and another very important thing – make him feel at home.
“During orientation, we took Vin out to eat to give him a new experience and get to know him better,” said Mariani, who also invited him to spend Christmas Eve with her family.
Arvin Ray Langurayan looks forward to a bright future, thanks to the opportunity for international nurses to work at Penn State Health.
“These people have made my life so much easier, and everyone has been so kind to me,” Langurayan said.
Mariani said Langurayan brings a unique opportunity to the nurses already on the unit because he is an experienced nurse, but he’s eager to learn how things are done here – and staff have been enthusiastic to teach him.
“The support for these international nurses is so important because they come with a strong knowledge base, but it’s the cultural differences and coming to a whole new place by themselves and leaving family behind that can be challenging,” she said. “Embracing them and being their family here is so important.”
Langurayan hopes to become a certified emergency nurse and one day bring his parents and three brothers to live in the U.S.
Respect, relationship is key
Recognizing that some patients may be hesitant to accept care from nurses of another culture, Penn State Health will remind patients, if necessary, that these nurses, like all Penn State Health employees, should be treated with respect. Penn State Health has a policy that prohibits patient bias or discrimination against any of our employees based on an aspect of diversity and also prohibits a patient from refusing care from an employee based on an aspect of their diversity.
To recognize and appropriately confront bias, Penn State Health employees are invited to one of the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s monthly, one-hour Upstander Cafés. The next one is planned for Friday, Feb. 3, at noon. Find more information here.
Mariani encourages fellow staff members to be open and ask the incoming international nurses about their culture and experiences – and encourage them to do the same. “That’s how we learn, and it helps them to feel they are part of our team,” she said.
Langurayan has one very important piece of advice for other incoming international nurses – get ready for the cold. The snow he watched fall in the movies was much cozier than reality. “Winter is no joke,” he said. “In the Philippines, we have summer the whole year. I can’t wait for summer.”
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