INTEGRATING THE RUSSIAN EMIGRE NURSE INTO UNITED-STATES NURSING

To meet the challenges of nursing's agenda for healthcare reform, the nursing profession and schools of nursing must recruit and retain nurses who reflect the diversity of the client population they will serve. With the opening of the former Soviet Union to emigration in 1988, Russian emigres are entering this country in increasing numbers. Many of these newcomers are Russian trained nurses with bicultural sensitivity and Russian language skills who do not possess the skills to practice in the United States. The author describes a tri-institutional project that focused on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a unique training project that prepares Russian nurse emigres for employment in the U.S. healthcare industry.