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Caring for those who care
It isn’t always easy for an immigrant to feel accepted in his or her new home, let alone in the work place. But lately, Providence Health Care (PHC) has gone at lengths to change that.
The Catholic, faith-based health care provider was selected as one of the 20 Best Employers for New Canadians in 2008, a designation that recognizes the best employers for recent immigrants. “In the past, we definitely tried to help people adjust, but I’m not sure we were always as helpful as we could have been in truly recognizing that new Canadians have made a huge and sometimes traumatic decision to leave behind family, friends and a known country,” said Diane Doyle, PHC’s president and CEO.
PHC serves over five hospitals in B.C., including St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver. Many of its programs serve those in the community who are most in need — the under served, the marginalized and the frail. Staff are trained in areas such as mental health senior care, AIDS treatment, counseling and addiction services.
Doyle, who has been with PHC for over twenty years, has seen a lot of changes her in her profession, namely the acute shortage of trained nurses in B.C. As a result, PHC has looked to other provinces and countries for staffing needs.
“There is not enough staff to meet increasing needs,” she said. “So PHC, in partnership with other health authorities, is making a concerted effort to find the best ways to attract and retain staff.”
Among many of PHC’s programs recognized in the award is the Internationally Educated (IEN) Registered Nurse Post Licensure Program (IEN), a four-month, intensive orientation and training program that provides education for registered nurses, for whom English is a second language.
Ursula Po, who came to Canada from Cebu City, The Philippines, in March 2005 found she was under qualified to practice as a nurse. The Canadian Registered Nurses of B.C. told her she needed 250 more hours of training.
As a result, Po, 31, says she had trouble finding an employer but found a golden opportunity when she heard about the IEN program at PHC. “PHC accepted me even though I had no licensee, or experience,” she said. “When everyone else was closing their doors on me, Providence Health Care gave me the key to a productive life in Canada.”
The program, which involves a combination of classroom work and hands on experience, gradually introduced Po to the Canadian health care system, where she found the socialized approach to medicine rewarding.
“Here everyone is treated equally, which is a great thing because where I’m from, even if a patient is really sick but has no money, he won’t get any treatment, which is very frustrating to see as a nurse,” she said.
Po says being paid for participating in the program and having a guaranteed job upon completion was an added bonus. She now works as an acute care nurse at St. John’s Hospital.
“I wanted to come to Canada because of better opportunities,” she said. “Plus, you only live once, right? So why not try to live in an first world country?”
Doyle is convinced that programs like the one Po graduated from is vital to maintaining a diverse and productive work force.
“We really have to be sensitive to the fact that we’re bringing them into new environments and if we want them to choose us as a long term place of work, then we need to be putting support and resources into helping them adjust to this culture.”
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