New code seeks to prevent unethical treatment of foreign-educated nurses

Authors from several healthcare organizations have developed a code to protect the rights of foreign-educated nurses, including those who work in long-term care.

The Voluntary Code of Ethical Conduct for the Recruitment of Foreign-Educated Nurses to the United States, offers a code of conduct for those organizations that recruit and retain nurses-such as nursing homes. It instructs organizations to comply with labor laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family & Medical Leave Act. The document also offers guidance on proper hiring and document protocols, and offers a best practices section.

Authors include Michele Sacco of The Joint Commission, Cheryl Peterson of The Joint Commission and Valerie Tate of the Nurse Alliance of SEIU. A U.S. House committee last month passed legislation that would bring more foreign-educated nurses to the U.S.

To see the code, go to http://www.fairinternationalrecruitment.org/TheCode.pdf.