How to orient, train, manage, and mentor international nurses effectively 1-2 Day Program Cross-cultural Skills for Nurse Managers and Clinical Preceptors of International Nurses: Creating Synergy • Learn why your traditional employee orientation may not be the most effective method for acclimating international nurses into your organization. • Understand how acculturation impacts work performance. • Develop organizational and unit-specific international nurse competencies. • Practice cross cultural skills in managing and mentoring international nurses. The health care field continues to face challenges of not only a diverse patient population but also challenges of a multicultural staff. Nurses from other countries represent about 15 percent of the RN workforce. To date, no standard approaches to the orientation and training of international nurses have been developed. “Learn by trial and error.” “Sink or swim.” “Learn on the job.” Eliminate these unproductive and ineffective approaches to the orientation of international nurses. Research in international human resource management shows that cross cultural training and orientation is effective in shortening the learning curve for employees who come from other cultures. Develop the global skills of your leaders. This workshop prepares managers and preceptors to use current theory and research-based practices in cross cultural management. Using interactive exercises, case studies, and role plays, participants will discover cultural values that underlie behavior and motivations, and leverage differences to create synergy. Facilitate your new nurses’ professional and personal adjustment to the United States, enhancing their success in attaining your organizational goals.

Course Content

Culture Advantage uses the framework of “Knowing Yourself, Knowing Others, Knowing How” as a tool for learning cross cultural competencies. Knowing Yourself • Baseline assessment of cross-cultural knowledge and skills: o Organizational cultural competency assessment o Preceptor competencies and role descriptions o Differences between orientation, training, managing, and mentoring o Organizational impact of ineffective cultural integration o Best practices in employee orientation Knowing Others • Recognize the dimensions of culture and their impact on the workplace culture. o Intercultural Communication Model o Learning styles and the influence of culture o Cultural differences in leadership styles and expectations • Use the Sunrise Model of Transcultural Nursing in gaining knowledge about cultural similarities and differences. o technological factors, o religious and philosophical factors, o kinship and social factors, o cultural values and lifeways, o political and legal factors, o economic factors, and o educational factors. • Describe the phases of acculturation and how they impact performance. o Anticipation o Euphoria o Dissatisfaction o Depression o Adjustment o Adaptation o Reverse culture shock • Identify the most common challenges of international nurses. o Cultural o Linguistic o Social o Technological o Organizational Knowing How • Develop cross cultural preceptor competencies in: o orienting, o training, o managing and o mentoring international nurses. • Develop international nurse competencies: o Organizational o Unit-specific • Explore creative ways of team-building in multicultural groups. o The Cultural Detective Model

What you will learn

What You Will Learn • Analyze current organizational orientation practices and identify areas for improvement. • Describe the phases of acculturation and how they impact performance. • Recognize and address the most common challenges of international nurses. • Develop desired clinical preceptor competencies in orienting, training, managing and mentoring international nurses. • Develop organizational and unit-specific international nurse competencies. • Learn and practice effective cross cultural management skills. Who Should Attend • Nurse Managers • Nurse Preceptors • Nurse supervisors • Charge Nurses • Staff nurses • Staff Development instructors • Continuing education instructors Course Director: Marlene Vicky Obermeyer, MA, RN Originally from the Philippines, Marlene is a nurse with almost 30 years of hands-on nursing experience. A survivor of “culture shock,” Marlene returned to school to learn more about culture and its impact on the international nurse’s personal and professional experience. She founded Culture Advantage, a cultural training and continuing education company (www.cultureadvantage.org) in 2004. She is a certified eCollege instructor and has written over 100 contact hours of online continuing education for nurses. She obtained a Master of Arts: Liberal Studies degree with concentrations in Anthropology, Communication and International Business. She has received additional training in facilitating international transitions, and in cross-cultural training for international corporations. She is a member and the webmaster for the Kansas Association of Nursing Continuing Education Providers (www.kancep.org.) She is the Kansas state representative of the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA). Marlene’s professional mission is to advocate for the support of cultural integration of international nurses and cultural competency in practice. She lives with her family on a farm in Kansas.