If qualification of the nurses is sought before placement with an employer in Germany, this must be set out in a written qualification agreement. This also applies if the qualification is delivered by a business partner. The qualification agreement covers at least the following points:
- transparent and comprehensive information on the promised services and assumption of their financing
- termination rules during the qualification measure
- rules for the case that no placement takes place after the qualification measure. The costs incurred are not borne by the nurse.
- rules that exclude cost participation and repayment obligations for nurses in the event of discontinuation.
Short-stay visa
Short-stay visa (Schengen visa): A short-stay visa allows a foreign national to remain in Germany for a period of up to 90 days within a period of 180 days. It applies for tourist or business purposes as well as for visiting friends and family. Nationals of many countries, including the USA, Canada and Australia, do not need a visa for a stay of up to 90 days if they wish to stay in Germany as a tourist. The exact requirements for a Schengen visa may vary depending on the country.
Definition of adaptation programme
Pursuant to Section 66a (1) of the Nursing Professions Act (Pflegeberufegesetz – PflBG) of 17 July 2017 (BGBl. I p. 2581) in the currently applicable version, pursuant to Section 2 of the Act on the Professions in Nursing (Krankenpflegegesetz – KrPflG) of 16.07.2003 (BGBl. I p. 1442) in the version of 31.12.2019 there is the possibility of granting applicants the authorisation to use the professional title “Gesundheits- und Krankenpfleger” who have acquired training outside the scope of this Act. The prerequisites for this are that the training has been completed and that equivalence of the training standard compared with German training is given.
Foreign nurses with foreign qualifications – especially from non-EU third countries – must submit an application for recognition of their qualifications to the respective state authority (ideally before departure to Germany). As a rule the qualifications are not equated with a German qualification in nursing. Accordingly the applicant or the foreign nurse receives the so-called deficit notice.
As a result the nurse has the option of choosing one of two options:
1) Participation in the knowledge examination directly after arrival in Germany.
This option is not recommended from our point of view, because there are in fact differences between the international curricula and the curricula in the 16 federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany. This means that the probability that the applicant will pass this examination is rather low.
2) Participation in an adaptation programme with a certified provider of such measures.
The duration of the adaptation programme varies individually and is determined by the respective state authority. This measure includes a theoretical part, in which the nurse takes part in frontal teaching, as well as a practical part in a medical facility. At our site in Borna the adaptation programme lasts 10 months (4 months of theory and 6 months of internship)
The objective of the adaptation programme is to eliminate all theoretical and practical deficits of the foreign qualifications identified by the competent state authority. For example in Saxony the Kommunaler Sozialverband Sachsen “KSV” is responsible for this.
Objective of the APM to eliminate all deficits of the foreign qualifications identified by the corresponding state authority and recorded in the “deficit notice”.
General information on the adaptation programmes in Weißenfels
General information on the adaptation programmes in Weißenfels
APM duration theory as a rule 4 full months
APM duration practical as a rule 6 full months
Teaching hours in the theory period 07:00-14:30 daily Mon.–Fri.
Teaching hours in the practical period 8 hours daily Mon.–Fri. (work at weekends and on public holidays possible)
Theory location in Weißenfels CareLend Bildungsgesellschaft mbH
Internship with the respective employer ( nationwide )
Group size: 20 participants
Country of origin of the nurses among others Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, India and Pakistan, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran ,….
Employment relationship before the APM
In order to obtain a visa to Germany, the foreign nurse must already present an employment contract as an auxiliary worker in nursing. However, the start of work and consequently the start of salary payment is linked to the start of the APM. The employment contract is fixed-term until completion of the APM.
Employment relationship after the APM
As soon as the APM has been successfully completed, the competent state authority is informed. It takes about 3 weeks until the professional certificate is issued. Until then the nurse remains employed as an auxiliary worker. As soon as a professional certificate is available, a seamless transition into an employment contract as a skilled worker is made. The employment contract is permanent.
Support after the APM 24 months in all matters, professional as well as private, from CareLend GmbH and its network.
Process of the adaptation programme
Before arrival – applicant selection
- Through approx. 43,000 files of applicants from various countries of the world a selection process is carried out in order to present suitable profiles to the employer.
- organises the online job interview. A member of CareLend staff is present in case questions regarding the duration of certain steps or official errands arise.
- Presentation of the desired professional experience, specialist area(s), personal characteristics of the applicant/participant.
- conducts – if desired on its part – a job interview (online) with its potential employee. The job interview is conducted in German.
German language
- Proof of German language skills is an important prerequisite for obtaining the visa as well as the residence and work permit in Germany.
- CareLend organises language courses from A1 to B1 in the home country in order to apply for the visa. In the period from application until receipt of the visa the nurse completes language level B2
- Although the competent state authority requires the B2 language certificate (for the issue of the professional certificate), we consider language level C1 necessary in order to manage a normal working day in the medical facility without problems. We can, if desired, organise C1 language courses during the APM.
In the assessment of language skills particular value is placed on occupation-related communicative abilities. Your nurses should be able to conduct a conversation confidently, in a structured way and clearly. Here it is important that the examination candidate can react flexibly to individual conversation situations and express themselves spontaneously. An extensive vocabulary combined with fluent speaking is an important prerequisite. Contents of what is narrated or written should be grasped and reproduced correctly and comprehensively orally as well as in writing.
Visa process
- Translations of all necessary documents into the German language
- Certification and legalisation of a total of 22 documents (necessary for visa and the licence-to-practise procedure)
- Application for deficit notice at the competent state authority
- Receipt of the deficit notice and determination of the contents to be made up Signing of the employment contract
- Application for prior approval from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)
- Securing of a tenancy agreement for the accommodation
- Application for entry authorisation
- Receipt of the visa
The employer sends CareLend the following documents:
a) Employment contract (auxiliary worker)
b) Declaration on the employment relationship
c) Job description auxiliary worker. Job description skilled worker
- During the APM the employer receives a high integration subsidy from the competent Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency). We will give you further information in a personal conversation.
- For information: Should the participant, for whatever reason, not travel to Germany, no costs whatsoever arise for the employer.
Completion of the visa procedure including all documents, applications and activities necessary for it by CareLend.
After arrival – arrival planning and accommodation
- We take care here of organisation of entry and of accommodation after entry including accompaniment for official errands that are necessary after arrival.
- We always recommend accommodation that already consists of existing shared flats, so that the foreign nurses are integrated into the community quickly and individually.
- Furthermore among other things the following matters are also organised:
- statutory health insurance
- registration of residence confirmation
- residence permit
- social insurance number
- tax identification number
- current account
- Create German vaccination card
- and much more
Start of the adaptation programme
- We regularly provide the employer with up-to-date information on the development of the employees, so that you constantly have an overview of all activities in order to enable preparation of the internship phase with you.
- Support of the nurses
- For the visa application the nurse already received an employment contract as an auxiliary worker in nursing. This is activated at the start of the adaptation programme or the start of the adaptation programme is at the same time the start of the employment contract.
- During the adaptation programme (theoretical and practical part) the participant receives a monthly salary.
- The participants spend the theoretical part of the measure at the education centre. The internship is undertaken in your facility.
After completion of the adaptation programme
- After completion of the adaptation programme in theory and internship and receipt of the licence to practise the employee is employed seamlessly as a skilled worker with the employer.
- Support of the placed skilled worker for 24 months in all matters. As well as personal and social integration by a social worker and social pedagogue is carried out
- If desired, organise and carry out workplace integration together with CareLend.
What does CareLend’s integration programme include?
Social environment / perception of the district / sustainability
“sustainable sense of belonging through contacts into the social environment” “good acceptance of the work and living environment outside the large city and in the east or west of Germany” “Anyone looking for a first-class company has found it here. “Without reservation the best company in the sector.”
Online contact greeting contents of the orientation course
“to those due to enter in future approx. 6 – 8 weeks before entry” “in the accommodation and first personal contact together with the staff of CareLend as well as lasting telephone contact for all everyday questions including the substantive presentation of life in Germany”for migration are constantly embedded (democracy, public holidays, religion, history etc.)”
- City tour
- Integration group meetings
- Creation of contact interfaces
- “in the place of residence as well as in the district town for orientation and with substantive questions and discussions.” As an offer for all foreign qualified nurses living in the district.” “on living in Germany (contacts, activities etc.)”.
Regional activities Individual conversations
- Comprehensive support
- “to give the foreign qualified nurses a sense of belonging in the district, impulses for leisure, sport, contacts” “on motivation and goals, but also a lasting conversation offer for all personal problem situations” “to initiate and support independent organisation of everyday life”
Life planning Teaching days at the education centre International meeting
- “Moves, family reunification,
- Offers and networking for and with families among other things.”“for the concentrated conveyance of knowledge about region, federal state, Germany, politics, history, climate, living and working, children and families, leisure in Germany also as stress management and balance to the profession among other things.”
“Meeting place of locals and qualified nurses
Objective: public perception, awaken interest, find contacts, conversations and discussions, “stage” for initiatives”
Organisation before arrival
Through our competent support the qualified nurses experience extensive security. Even before their entry into Germany we ensure that all necessary documents are gathered and important steps are already completed.
Our system works as follows: The potential qualified nurses from abroad register on the online portal of our website or visit us at one of our sites in several countries of the world ( currently in: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, India and Pakistan ). Already here they can put any questions to us and receive extensive advice that includes all required information. The applicants must be able to prove German language skills at language level B1. Exclusively the Goethe certificate, the ÖSD certificate, ECL and the TELC certificate are admitted for this in order to be able to conduct interviews. until receipt of the visa they must have completed language level B2.
All necessary documents of the qualified nurse must be translated into the German language and certified by the German embassy. The complete documents are then sent to us by post by the applicant. Subsequently we will submit the application for review of the equivalence of a foreign educational qualification in a health profession and grant of the authorisation to use the professional title together with the necessary documents to the respective state authority. This as a rule sends us the deficit notice in which all identified deficits, whether theoretical or practical, are contained. The deficit notice is absolutely required for the visa application, because the lacking experience presupposes attendance at an occupation-related preparatory course (adaptation programme with subsequent commencement of work), which is the main reason for the entry of the qualified nurse.
At the same time we make contact with medical facilities and place the qualified nurses with them on the basis of their application documents. CareLend GmbH works in cooperation with the Sana Klinikum in Borna, which has requested our vigorous support. The medical staff from abroad then receive an employment contract for commencement of a socially insured activity as an auxiliary worker in nursing in order to take part in an adaptation programme for professional recognition. The employers are not exclusively Sana hospitals, but in addition several further employers in the region. In other words the nurses take part in the theory part in Borna but the practical share is undertaken with the employer and after receipt of the professional certificate a seamless transition as a skilled worker in health and nursing care takes place
Accommodation
CareLend GmbH supports the international qualified nurses 100% in the organisation of accommodation for them. The members of our team deal extensively here with the search for suitable flats and shared flats and take care of all matters with the respective property companies. Cultural, religious and political aspects are of course particularly taken into account in the organisation of shared flats. Of course we also welcome support from the employers in establishing contacts and soft factors in this regard in the new place. In other words it is a collaboration; CareLend is glad to take on the organisation of this collaboration.
Obtaining the entry authorisation
After receipt of all necessary documents the qualified nurse with our help arranges an appointment at the German embassy in order to apply for a visa. We also offer the applicant here professional advice as preparation for the visa interview.
Organisation after arrival
Continuation of the language course
CareLend ensures that the foreign qualified nurses attain the German language up to level B2 before arrival in Germany, in order to ensure successful integration in the long term. Our company has already been certified by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees as a course provider for learning the German language. We have several sites worldwide that function as language schools and where DaF (German as a foreign language) lecturers work with us. In addition we support qualified members of our team in their training as DaF lecturers, so that alongside teaching the German language they also stand by the qualified nurses in an advisory capacity in all other matters.
The conveyance of the language is to cover four major basic areas:
- Listening
- Reading
- Speaking and pronunciation
- Writing
Upon attaining language level B2 the participant is linguistically and communicatively capable of action in work and learning processes as well as in various social contexts.
The qualified nurses are taught knowledge in the following fields of action:
- Initial conversations, findings, medical history, admission interview
- Treatment plan, care plan
- Patient education: instructing, instructing, informing, informing
- Caring for, accompanying, advising
- Reporting, handover conversations, case discussions
- Documentation
The contents of the occupation-related language courses are based on the learning objectives of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
Example of cooperation with the Sana Klinikum Borna
Final interview and receipt of the licence to practise
The adaptation course serves together with the final interview to establish that the applicants have the knowledge and abilities required for the practice of the profession of health and nursing care nurse (course objective). It is conducted in accordance with the course objective in the form of theoretical and practical teaching, practical training with theoretical instruction or both at the Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land pursuant to Section 4 (2) sentence 1 or sentence 3 of the Krankenpflegegesetz and concludes with a final interview on the content of the adaptation course. Practice instructors who meet the prerequisites pursuant to Section 2 (2) sentence 4 or sentence 6 participate in the theoretical instruction to an appropriate extent. Successful completion of the adaptation course is to be evidenced by a certificate.
The certificate is issued if in the examination, which is conducted in the form of a final interview, it has been established that the applicants have achieved the course objective. The final interview is conducted by a specialist examiner pursuant to Section 4 (1) sentence 1 number 3 together with the teacher or the practice instructor pursuant to sentence 3 who has also supervised the applicants during the course. If it emerges in the final interview that the applicants have not successfully completed the adaptation course, the specialist examiner pursuant to Section 4 (1) sentence 1 number 3 decides in the presence of the teacher or the practice instructor participating in the interview on an appropriate extension of the adaptation course.
An extension is permissible only once. The extension is followed by a further final interview. If even after the result of this interview the certificate pursuant to sentence 5 cannot be issued, the adaptation course may be repeated only once.
Employment as a qualified nurse
After receipt of the professional and work permit the qualified nurse from abroad can now also take up a socially insured activity as a qualified nurse in Germany. Compared with the previous activity as an “auxiliary worker in nursing” the remuneration also changes now. CareLend GmbH supports the qualified nurses for a further 2 years in all matters. It is particularly important to us to integrate the migrants into German life in the long term.
What advantages does the hospital gain from this?
- Saving of money and time
- low administrative effort
- advertising costs fall away
- organised collaboration with a large number of selected nursing placement providers that match their special wishes
- no fee payment before the nurses start work
- rapid access to a continuously maintained database of qualified nurses
- ONE contact person when it comes to the foreign nurses
Pre-qualification already in the home country
Already in their home country our nurses undergo a pre-qualification with regard to their specialist competence, their language skills and their willingness and ability to adapt to the European way of life.
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ misunderstandings are minimised
+ trust is created with patients
+ acceptance is created with colleagues
Bureaucratic necessities
Completion of all bureaucratic necessities that are required for the employment of a foreign nurse in Germany (e.g. licence to practise, work permit, residence permit, translations, certifications etc.).
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ thereby staff in their HR departments are relieved and are thus available for other processes.
Preparatory seminar
Adaptation programme/ adaptation course This gives the foreign nurse more security and they can concentrate specifically on their recognition process and subsequent work as a skilled worker
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ the nurse remains with the hospital not only during the period of their adaptation course, but also thereafter as an employee.
+ In addition the risk of failure in the overall process is thereby minimised.
Individual support
for smooth linguistic and social integration in Germany both in the professional and in the private sphere. This includes e.g. help with family reunification, the search for housing and the furnishing of the new home. In addition we organise, if necessary, school and kindergarten places and if needed a car is if applicable temporarily made available free of charge. In this way the nurse is relieved and can concentrate on their new work in the hospital and the optimisation of their German language skills.
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ the nurse is relieved and can without obstacles concentrate on their duties, the optimisation of their German language skills and further professional experience.
+ considerable relief of the hospital’s HR department
Mental support
Should stumbling blocks or misunderstandings arise, we are glad to intervene.
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ Only in a good working climate does one work with commitment and in a success-oriented way.
+ A satisfying quality of life at the workplace and in the private sphere is also reflected in the nurse’s performance.
- In addition: recruitment of good to very good foreign qualified nurses for the hospital
- As a rule some hospitals/employers experience high turnover. 24 months of support minimises this risk greatly by creating strong attachment
- High gratitude and loyalty before and after starting work as a skilled worker
- Medium-term planning capability of the staffing ratios through regular adaptation programmes of nurses
- The motivation of the nurses is not based only on pay. Other factors are in the foreground
- High regional and home-country anchoring (skilled worker and family)
- High social recognition, perception for the company through the adaptation programmes
- Placement commission for nurses after receipt of the licence to practise is substantially more favourable and low-risk for the hospital.
- As a rule the search for a new skilled worker involves much cost and effort. However there is no certainty or guarantee until the costs amortise.
Example of cooperation with the Sana Klinikum Borna
The Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land GmbH and the Bildungszentrum Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land have agreed a cooperation with our company CareLend. Together we want to create a joint programme for the linguistic and specialist training and further training of foreign qualified nurses with qualifications acquired in the home country in non-academic healthcare professions in Saxony. This programme (`’adaptation programme for foreign qualified nurses”) has as its objective to eliminate all deficits that the KSV Saxony has identified.
The Sana Klinikum designs curricula for the adaptation programmes together with meineagentur24 and CareLend on the basis of the regulations and orders of the state authority in Saxony. This adaptation programme for qualified nurses is organised and delivered at various sites of the Sana group in Saxony. Borna was designated as the main site of the adaptation programme. There is a tendency for the possibility of transferring the project in Borna to further cities nationwide.
Start of the activity as an auxiliary worker in nursing on the basis of the cooperation example Sana Kliniken (practical phase)
Already from the start of the adaptation programme the auxiliary workers receive a gross income of approx. 2050€ per month. The practical part of the recognition measures takes place in the Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land as well as in outpatient care areas. The relevant specialist fields, e.g. internal medicine, surgery, geriatrics or neurology, emerge from the individual deficit notice of the Kommunaler Sozialverband Sachsen. The practical activities during the adaptation course concentrate on the planning, organisation and delivery of the care of patients, including care documentation. Knowledge of participation in measures of medical diagnostics, therapy or rehabilitation is conveyed. At the start of practice the structures of the clinic, ward processes, duty roster organisation and documentation are got to know. Nursing tasks, such as e.g. personal care, assistance with food intake, prophylaxes, patient observation or hygiene measures are accompanied among other things by qualified practice instructors who meet the prerequisites pursuant to Section 2 (2) sentence 4 or sentence 6 of the Training and Examination Ordinance for the Professions in Nursing. Furthermore there is close coordination and collaboration, with regard to the accompaniment of the course participants, by the teachers of the Medical Vocational School, of the education centre as well as of the practical placement wards.
Content of the APM on the basis of the cooperation example Sana Kliniken
The total number of hours of the adaptation programme at the Sana Klinikum amounts – at present – to approx. 640 hours. The process consists of a total of 12 modules:
- Recognise, record and assess care situations in people of all age groups
- Select, carry out and evaluate care measures
- Ensure expertly support, advice and instruction in health- and care-relevant questions
- Participate in the development and implementation of rehabilitation concepts and integrate these into care action
- Align care action in a person-related way
- Align care action with nursing science findings
- Align care action with quality criteria, legal framework provisions as well as economic and ecological principles
- Participate in medical diagnostics and therapy
- Initiate life-preserving immediate measures until the arrival of the doctor
- Develop a professional self-understanding and learn to cope with professional requirements
- Influence the development of the nursing profession in the social context
- Collaborate in groups and teams
The curriculum is to contribute to securing an appropriate quality of the adaptation courses for foreign qualified nurses in Saxony. It defines the thematic framework with emphasis along the concretely present learning prerequisites. At the same time the contents are aligned with the legal-administrative requirements in connection with the recognition procedures under the Krankenpflegegesetz for qualified nurses from abroad. The task connected with the curriculum is to design the measures so that, building on their already existing nursing specialist competences, they can convey to the foreign qualified nurses a standard of knowledge and ability equivalent in comparison with German health and nursing care training. Of importance here is also that the teaching prepares for the professional practical placements and that the experiences and problems of practice can in turn also become the subject of the teaching.
Final interview and receipt of the licence to practise
The adaptation course serves together with the final interview to establish that the applicants have the knowledge and abilities required for the practice of the profession of health and nursing care nurse (course objective). It is conducted in accordance with the course objective in the form of theoretical and practical teaching, practical training with theoretical instruction or both at the Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land pursuant to Section 4 (2) sentence 1 or sentence 3 of the Krankenpflegegesetz and concludes with a final interview on the content of the adaptation course. Practice instructors who meet the prerequisites pursuant to Section 2 (2) sentence 4 or sentence 6 participate in the theoretical instruction to an appropriate extent. Successful completion of the adaptation course is to be evidenced by a certificate.
The certificate is issued if in the examination, which is conducted in the form of a final interview, it has been established that the applicants have achieved the course objective. The final interview is conducted by a specialist examiner pursuant to Section 4 (1) sentence 1 number 3 together with the teacher or the practice instructor pursuant to sentence 3 who has also supervised the applicants during the course. If it emerges in the final interview that the applicants have not successfully completed the adaptation course, the specialist examiner pursuant to Section 4 (1) sentence 1 number 3 decides in the presence of the teacher or the practice instructor participating in the interview on an appropriate extension of the adaptation course.
An extension is permissible only once. The extension is followed by a further final interview. If even after the result of this interview the certificate pursuant to sentence 5 cannot be issued, the adaptation course may be repeated only once.
Employment as a qualified nurse
After receipt of the professional and work permit the qualified nurse from abroad can now also take up a socially insured activity as a qualified nurse in Germany. Compared with the previous activity as an “auxiliary worker in nursing” the remuneration also changes now. CareLend GmbH supports the qualified nurses for a further 2 years in all matters. It is particularly important to us to integrate the migrants into German life in the long term.
What advantages does the hospital gain from this?
- Saving of money and time
- low administrative effort
- advertising costs fall away
- organised collaboration with a large number of selected nursing placement providers that match their special wishes
- no fee payment before the nurses start work
- rapid access to a continuously maintained database of qualified nurses
- ONE contact person when it comes to the foreign nurses
Pre-qualification already in the home country
Already in their home country our nurses undergo a pre-qualification with regard to their specialist competence, their language skills and their willingness and ability to adapt to the European way of life.
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ misunderstandings are minimised
+ trust is created with patients
+ acceptance is created with colleagues
Bureaucratic necessities
Completion of all bureaucratic necessities that are required for the employment of a foreign nurse in Germany (e.g. licence to practise, work permit, residence permit, translations, certifications etc.).
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ thereby staff in their HR departments are relieved and are thus available for other processes.
Preparatory seminar
Adaptation programme/ adaptation course This gives the foreign nurse more security and they can concentrate specifically on their recognition process and subsequent work as a skilled worker
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ the nurse remains with the hospital not only during the period of their adaptation course, but also thereafter as an employee.
+ In addition the risk of failure in the overall process is thereby minimised.
Individual support
for smooth linguistic and social integration in Germany both in the professional and in the private sphere. This includes e.g. help with family reunification, the search for housing and the furnishing of the new home. In addition we organise, if necessary, school and kindergarten places and if needed a car is if applicable temporarily made available free of charge. In this way the nurse is relieved and can concentrate on their new work in the hospital and the optimisation of their German language skills.
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ the nurse is relieved and can without obstacles concentrate on their duties, the optimisation of their German language skills and further professional experience.
+ considerable relief of the hospital’s HR department
Mental support
Should stumbling blocks or misunderstandings arise, we are glad to intervene.
The hospital benefits from this because:
+ Only in a good working climate does one work with commitment and in a success-oriented way.
+ A satisfying quality of life at the workplace and in the private sphere is also reflected in the nurse’s performance.
- In addition:
- Recruitment of good to very good foreign qualified nurses for the hospital
- As a rule some hospitals/employers experience high turnover. 24 months of support minimises this risk greatly by creating strong attachment
- High gratitude and loyalty before and after starting work as a skilled worker
- Medium-term planning capability of the staffing ratios through regular adaptation programmes of nurses
- The motivation of the nurses is not based only on pay. Other factors are in the foreground
- High regional and home-country anchoring (skilled worker and family)
- High social recognition, perception for the company through the adaptation programmes
- Placement commission for nurses after receipt of the licence to practise is substantially more favourable and low-risk for the hospital.
- As a rule the search for a new skilled worker involves much cost and effort. However there is no certainty or guarantee until the costs amortise.
Fee to CareLend
- All entry arrangements, of whatever kind, cost the employer nothing before arrival
- After arrival and the actual start of the nurses in the adaptation programme, CareLend issues the employer an invoice in the amount of 4500€ net. This is a flat rate for all costs arising before the start of the APM.
- During the 10-month adaptation programme the nurse is supported by CareLend in various matters in order to relieve the HR department and to integrate the nurse in the locality.
- After receipt of the professional certificate and the start of the nurses as skilled workers in the hospital, CareLend will issue an invoice in the amount of 2 gross monthly salaries to the hospital.
- The employer does not have to bear other costs.
What success stories of nursing staff who today work as recognised qualified nurses in Germany has CareLend supported?
Meineagentur24 and CareLend GmbH have since the founding of meineagentur24 to date supported more than 6500 skilled workers (doctors, pharmacists, dental practitioners and qualified nurses in order to continue their professional careers in Germany.
In 2018 we noticed that the number of foreign nurses who apply to us is constantly increasing. For that reason CareLend was founded at the end of 2018; solely for qualified nurses.
several hundred nurses CareLend has since mid-2019 to date successfully acquired, selected, supported, qualified, placed and supported. 100 nurses of these are already in the Sana Kliniken Leipziger Land in Borna / Saxony. The others work nationwide. We could have placed hundreds from the end of 2019 to today in Germany; unfortunately Corona put a spoke in our wheel here.
It is not the successful placement that distinguishes us. It is rather the manner of the support, integration and sustainability that distinguish us.
An example of a successful cooperation with a hospital is the Sana Klinik in Borna. Please see this video: https://youtu.be/0jfATueis8g
A person from the administrative apparatus of the hospital in Borna is glad to be able to comment on the above-average good results of our joint work.
Meineagentur24 and CareLend developed before the federal election with the Federal Government Commissioner for Nursing A.D. Mr Westerfellhaus and several other members of the Bundestag a project in order to establish the good German initial training in nursing also abroad. Through the Corona outbreak this project was put on ice for the time being.
Likewise there are numerous videos and reports on the successful projects in the field of human medicine. Even the Saxony State Medical Association has presented the name meineagentur24 as a trusted agency on its website. This applies particularly with regard to support and relocation service for foreign doctors.
What activities did the people pursue in their home country? What do they do today in Germany?
All placed foreign qualified nurses have completed their training and in part their studies in nursing in their home country. They have on average 5 years of professional experience. Many of them have worked in university hospitals.
In Germany they work as skilled workers in nursing. In hospitals and some in elderly care whether inpatient, semi-inpatient or in the outpatient area.
Many of them have already brought their families to Germany and are excellently integrated.
I can show several examples particularly in Borna
How long does the process take until one obtains a skilled worker?
The entry arrangements take on account of our excellent relationships with the authorities concerned (embassies, employment agency, immigration office, municipal administration,…) approx. 4 months. For information as a rule the entry arrangements take substantially longer
10 months adaptation programme
Of which 6 months already in the hospital as an auxiliary worker.
What hurdles were overcome and how?
Numerous hurdles have been experienced since the start in Borna
- Recognition by the state authority (in Saxony: KSV) that our curriculum is well suited for the elimination of all deficits
- Certification process through the AZAV where one was examined thoroughly
- In 2020 until mid-2021 some embassies closed. We flew through several countries and did everything conceivable in order to be able to obtain the visa in time.
- The trust of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) in the district of Leipzig, immigration office Borna, district office, cooperation partners in small localities, integration of foreign fellow citizens in a small town in Saxony were not easy. Today we enjoy a very good reputation in the region.
- Misunderstandings that arose through cultural aspects did not make the life of our foreign nurses easier at the beginning, quite the contrary. Not so long ago we founded a registered association that looks after various objectives but mainly it is about establishing a communication channel between the foreign skilled workers and the locals
- Procuring accommodation in small towns is not easy but through several cooperations with several housing companies of the district we have eliminated this problem
- The integration of the nurse’s family is not easy (job for the partner, kindergarten place for the children) was a great challenge for us. Now the mayor and Mr Behairy are planning the qualification of foreign kindergarten educators in order soon to obtain a work permit.
- The perception of the high proportion of foreigners among the nurses in the hospital was not easy. Together with our social pedagogue and a practice instructor from the hospital we succeeded in also clearing this problem out of the way. We have achieved excellent results in workplace and social integration.
Conclusion
The recruitment of qualified nurses from abroad is regarded as a strategy for securing the need for skilled workers: Both in the hospital sector and in inpatient elderly care, qualified nurses from abroad have increasingly been employed in recent years – many of them as the result of targeted recruitment initiatives.
Our company places great value on the nurses being placed in suitable positions in hospitals, clinics and care homes. In doing so we will continue to support them after receipt of the work permit and professional certificate in all matters in order to secure a stable relationship within this time for both parties, that is employees as well as for the employers.
Through the required internship, which takes place above all in medical facilities such as hospitals and care homes, the international skilled workers come into contact with their German colleagues as well as the patients. Mr Behairy (Managing Director) is always keen to pass on his extensive experience and knowledge in intercultural links between German and especially Arab society to the staff. Also through the provision of accommodation and shared flats the nurses are socially integrated and always have our support at their side.
In all matters concerning naturalisation, residence-law aspects and legal equality we stand by the medical specialist staff in a supporting and advisory capacity through our lawyer. Alongside the cultural aspects we convey information on the various German parties and their historical context as well as knowledge of general German history before and after reunification in order to secure a political understanding.
We at CareLend GmbH particularly commit ourselves to the integration of our international fellow citizens in order to integrate them with our vigorous support into German working life, to give them help with all bureaucratic matters and to promote the learning of language, primary cultural and political aspects. Respect and tolerance stand for us in the foremost place. The Managing Director together with his team ensures that the migrants always feel at home here and it is a great concern of ours to carefully clear any misunderstandings out of the way.