When newspapers fail, are they even aware of it?

In mid-September I opened my copy of the Los Angeles Times and as I read through the various sections my roving eye stopped at an article picked up from the San Diego Union-Tribune entitled “Outsourcing education”. The article heralds a bold new idea that the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency had worked out to “solve” California’s persistent nursing shortage. The solution they would send upwards to 40 students who had completed their pre-nursing education to attend nursing school at a college in Guadalajara, Mexico. The twist to this brainchild the team at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency is that the students would have to be English/Spanish bilingual and willing to spend upwards to two years working in a “needy” hospital. It appears this program will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 US dollars, not to mention the cost of the team that will be organized to support these students to ensure they acclimate to the new system, and cultural environment.

I attended the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) when this notion was presented. What was suppose to be a simple 10 – 15 minute presentation turned out to be nearly an one hour+ dog and pony show, complete with The Honorable Rosario Marin, Secretary of California’s State and Consumer Services Agency and a honcho from the university in Guadalajara. When the members of the BRN expressed concern at what appeared to be an quick start time, they presented the plan with the intent to kick-off the program in January, the members of the BRN were presented with a “your approval is not necessary, since they will be educated outside the US and will enter the California system as a foreign-educated nurse”. When I expressed my concerns at the meeting Stacy Leach form the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency approached me and announced that she had been meaning to contact me, and as of the writing of this post I’m still waiting to hear from her, but then again I’m not surprised at another bureaucrat making empty promises.

Now I’m no investigative journalist but I can tell when something doesn’t seem like it make sense and this entire plan reeks of old fashion patronization. Questions like why will this program cost nearly $20,000 which is the cost of a community college nursing program (hint the current currency conversion rate is 1 USD to 10 Mexican Pesos), why is the program only available to Spanish/English speakers and does this violate equal access laws especially since it appears that the program will be receiving taxpayer dollars, if we can do this why aren’t we investing these dollars in our local community college nursing programs, and if this program is so much on the “up and up” why sneak it through the back door – they presented the program as a fait accompli, etc. One would think that the San Diego Union-Tribune reporters would be the ones asking these questions, but they appeared to be more concerned about regurgitating the press release then asking the really hard questions. And the newspaper owners, editorial boards, reporters, etc., wonder why they continue to lose subscribers.

So when I read the article I sent the following letter to the editor, and since it appears they chose not to run it I am taking this opportunity to post it on my blog.

In closing I fervently believe that we need to muster all resources and ideas to alleviate our nursing shortage (both in the educational and work pipeline). However, first and foremost we need to look at ways of supporting home-grown solutions, as these are the only ones that will have the most long-term and long-reaching affect and effect.

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September 19, 2007

Letters to the Editor
San Diego Union-Tribune
PO Box 120191
San Diego, CA 92112-0191

Re: “Outsourcing education”

Dear Editor:

As a RN with over 35 years of experience I can’t begin to say how this plan gives me a great deal of concern. What are they thinking?

The plan to pay for almost 40 Spanish/English speaking Californians to attend nursing school in Guadalajara, I believe it is short-sighted and poorly thought out.

First, would such a program if being supported through taxpayer dollars violate our provision of equal access? This could be a problem since the program is not, contrary to the article open to bilingual nursing school students, its only available those who speak Spanish and English.

Second, will the courses in Guadalajara be in English, or will they be conducted in Spanish; and if the later will those graduates be required to take the required English proficiency exams required of nurses educated in foreign countries?

Third, the cost of the program seems high even by California standards. If memory serves the amount quoted in the paper is at the high end of our A.D.N. program so why does this program appear to cost the same dollar to peso?

Four, why not invest these dollars into our local community and community college economy. Why do we continually not blink an eye to outsource when for nearly the same investment we can begin to grow our own nursing pipeline?

In short this is an idea whose time has not come.

Sincerely,
Geneviève M. Clavreul, RN, Ph.D.