Before conclusion of the employment contract the company demonstrably presents the international nurse with a translated in-company integration management concept of the future employer
In order to be able to address well the wide-ranging concerns of qualified nurses recruited from abroad in our company, the establishment of integration management, or the position of integration managers, has proved effective.
In integration management, all topics, questions and concerns connected with recruitment, entry, induction and the recognition procedure can be channelled and dealt with.
Integration managers can develop tailored proposals for the strategic promotion of a welcoming culture – and bring them together conceptually.
- CareLend’s integration management has 4 full-time posts
- the colleagues have all completed training in intercultural competence.
- The colleagues are familiar with creating and maintaining the necessary integration structures and have both corresponding working-time resources and the required scope for action.
Since we support the participants/nurses in their home country for a year during the language-teaching phase, we have an excellent opportunity to establish whether the participant/nurse is capable of integrating in the West.
What do we offer to support integration for foreign nurses?
- Travel planning for the nurse
- Support with finding accommodation
- Entry coordination (airport reception, official appointments etc.)
- Cultural preparation in the home country and immediately after arrival
- Support for candidates after placement
- Support with the recognition procedure
Support with the integration of foreign nurses
The integration process is mainly accompanied by our integration officer, with support from the staff in the support office.
First contact with the integration officer takes place via WhatsApp around 6 – 8 weeks before entry.
Participants receive small tasks and can get to know their contacts and ask important questions.
On arrival we distribute welcome folders to inform them about the first important appointments and to convey facts about everyday life.
With a tour of the place of residence, important public authorities and cultural institutions are introduced and tips are given on using public transport.
The integration officer takes on 3 teaching days and provides information on topics such as basic political and cultural information about Germany and the region, on the climate, living, working and housing, and on leisure opportunities.
These are followed by group meetings, individual contacts and conversations on everyday questions, in order to get to know the participants and their backgrounds better. The goals for the coming years are also discussed.
In our office, directly in the education centre, customers are likewise advised on everyday questions and supported with official matters or questions of a professional as well as private nature.
Many of the agency’s staff volunteer in the association Bienvenue e.V., which provides further encounter and excursion offers in order to help nurses and their families put down lasting roots in the region and to promote contacts with (family) mentors and people interested in intercultural exchange. The chair of the board of Bienvenue e.V., who is at the same time the principal shareholder of CareLend GmbH and CareLend Bildungsgesellschaft mbH, is Dipl. Betriebswirt Mohammed Behairy.
Support with integration, for clinics / the existing team
As regards integration and onboarding directly at the workplace, we likewise offer employers our services under the general agreement at no additional cost. Here we would like to name Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land as an example.
The theoretical part of the adaptation programme takes place at the education centre of Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land. Our company therefore moved in 2019 during preparations for cooperation with the Sana Kliniken from Leipzig to Borna. Since October 2019 we have been directly in the building of the education centre at Witznitzer Werkstraße 16e. Through the immediate proximity to our foreign nurses we can clarify various matters, e.g. clear up misunderstandings and also provide support in other ways.
We are the main contact for the head of the education centre, Frau Cornelia Reichardt, for all concerns relating to the foreign nurses, such as participant development, applications etc.; as a result we are strongly integrated in the education centre, and there is a collegial relationship between the staff of the education centre and our company.
During the internship we continually hold discussions with the practice mentor Jacqueline Lindner on the in-company integration of the individual candidates in the hospital. With the health insurers DAK and BARMER we hold health days at regular intervals, which take place directly in the education centre of Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land, in order to bring “our” nurses into contact with existing colleagues.
We are always in contact with a number of decision-makers at the hospital; for example, many conversations take place with the Commercial Director, Herrn Alexander Steudel, on planning and solutions for various challenges during or after the training / adaptation programme.
Further discussions take place with nursing director Silke Lebus and the head of human resources Herrn Nico Horn.
Support with finding accommodation
Through the shared language training and in chat groups, the participants in a group get to know one another during entry preparation and often decide to live together in shared flats. We establish the need for flats and first try to arrange suitable flats with two housing companies with which we have already been working for some time. They know the needs of our nurses and are familiar with the particularities. The flats are near the hospital, so that the journey to work is a maximum of 15-20 minutes on foot, and less by bicycle. Where needed we teach them to ride a bicycle.
We can arrange furniture in part through our integration network. Much is also bought via classified ads, where association members then often help with transport.
Travel planning for nurses
After receipt of the visa we first plan the arrival date so that important appointments can be organised before the start of the programme, e.g. residents’ registration office, GP, bank, HR department, as well as providing and where appropriate furnishing the accommodation. Participants like to book flights according to their own preferences, but are advised by us in detail regarding destination airport and airlines. Where needed we take on the booking of train or bus tickets for more distant airports. New arrivals are, where possible, greeted directly at Leipzig station by a team member and accompanied to their flats, where a care package with food and a SIM card is waiting.
The welcome folders are handed over and a visit with the integration officer is arranged.
Entry coordination (airport reception, official appointments etc.)
Appointments are prepared by us once the entry date becomes known (before arrival).
- GP visit for issuing German vaccination passports after titre determination, where applicable completion of vaccination protection
- Registration with the municipal administration with application for a certificate of good conduct
- Opening of a bank account
- Appointment with the HR department to receive all documents and submit certificates of good conduct, tax ID, personnel questionnaire and a copy of the vaccination passport etc. These appointments are accompanied by one of our staff. The applications for the residence permit are prepared jointly and checked by us before submission. Participants are accompanied by us when applying for the residence permit.
Please note that this section contains general information. If you are a nurse who has been placed by CareLend GmbH, these and further services are free of charge for you. Employer-Pays principle . For further details please see our terms and conditions.