The group of 21 nurses from Fiji, hired by the LBJ Hospital to help address an acute nursing shortage, is on schedule to sit their NCLEX, National Council Licensure Examination in June.
The nurses are currently working as CNAs, or Community Nurse Aides, while also attending classes at the ASCC Nursing Program to prepare them for the NCLEX, which they need to pass to be US certified as Registered Nurses. The nurses are already RNs in Fiji and some have worked for over 10 years.
The nurses are being paid a salary of $14,000 and their transportation from Fiji and accommodation at Sadie’s Inn is paid by LBJ. An LBJ report obtained by KHJ News shows that the nurses are sharing 12 rooms at a cost of $50 per night. The discounted rate works out to $148,850 from November last year to the end of July, this year. The total cost of the recruitment, hiring, relocation, certification and licensing of the nurses from Fiji is $587,000.
According to the report, once the nurses pass the NCLEX they will be hired immediately and classified as licensed Registered Nurses with a starting salary of $37,000.
They are to commit to a 6-year contract with the hospital.
Those who don’t pass the NCLEX on their first attempt will continue to work as CNAs, but their salaries will be bumped to $28,000.
LBJ will cover their second attempt to take the NCLEX exam.
The report states that LBJ would still be short by 66 RNs, even if all 21 nurses pass the exam and begin working.
The hospital is also entering into a contract with Healthcare Alliance, a sort of international employment agency of health professionals, which supplies manpower around the world, for 30 additional nurses with US certification.
Ten RN’s are scheduled to arrive in June, while the rest are to arrive in July. The nurses are to work here for two years.
The hiring of nurses from Fiji was voted by the LBJ management in September of last year, as the best short term option to recruit and obtain nurses immediately. But the long term option is to increase local nurses, starting from high school level, and to provide more support and resources to the ASCC Nursing Program.
