Skilled immigrants: The real cost of brain waste

Hello colleagues, I sat down this week with a couple from Egypt, who have been in the US for three years. She works prepping salad at a local restaurant, and he works for Domino's Pizza. She wanted to register for a training our program is offering on basic health care. Her goal is to return to her profession as a registered nurse. She had formerly worked as head nurse in surgery for over 20 years. She asked her husband to accompany her to our appointment since he spoke a little better English than she did. During the conversation, I turned to her husband and asked what his former work had been. He told me he had been an anesthesiologist. 

I wonder how many members have had similar encounters with immigrant professionals. If you have, you may be interested in this blog post by our friends at the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians that outlines the "real cost of brain waste."

You are invited to share your experiences here on LINCS, including your frustrations as well as your successes, with finding effective means to support immigrant professionals.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition