More than 300.000 people have left their countries in recent years and are now working in Germany, where is it takes care of the elderly and sick. It's good for Germany - but is it good for those caregivers themselves? Many countries are struggling for their workforce, he writes DW.
Scholars use the term international migration industry. Migration the workforce in the care sector is highly professionalized, emphasizes Stefan Kordel, co-author of the study from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, for DW. Public and private entities, and even individual hospitals or nursing homes, compete for the qualified medical sisters, and for trainees. It's about economic interests, says Cordell.
His colleague Tobias Weidinger, who also worked on the study, says that in extreme cases it looks like this: "The employment agency asks us to send five 'pieces' of migrants for the next year of training. If one returns to its country of origin, then they simply ask for the next one to be delivered. We ordered five, so we want five."
Hospitals also show on social networks how important they are to people of migrant origin who are part of their team. Without migration, Germany's medical care sector would collapse, the Federal Employment Agency found: "Almost one in four nursing home employees does not have German citizenship," the agency said.
Overall, every fifth Nurse comes from abroad. And there are more and more of them: there is a shortage of qualified workers, many nurses are retiring, and others are leaving the profession due to overload.
How are nurses with a migrant background coping?
In addition to new nurses from abroad, qualified workers who have German passports and a migrant background work in hospitals and institutions for the care of the elderly. There are also refugees, for example from Syria or Ukraine. All of them ensure that sick and elderly people in Germany receive care - for now, as the need is growing rapidly in an aging society.
How are they doing in Germany? Is it good enough for them to stay here?
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) Erlangen-Nuremberg studied how to establish sustainable employment nurses with a migrant background. They surveyed nurses, managers in hospitals and care facilities, administrators, language schools, counseling centers, agencies.
In a study entitled Participation of nurses with a migrant background researchers illustrate what is important to their well-being – both in the workplace and in everyday life outside of work.
Disappointment in Germany
In many countries of origin, training for medical technicians does not take place primarily through vocational education, as in Germany. Those who were not properly informed only realized in Germany that, instead of performing medical tasks, they spend a significant part of their time in basic care - such as washing patients or helping with meals. In their home countries, this is often done by family members or special caregivers.
The disappointment is huge when educated nurses from the Philippines realize that they are not allowed to give intravenous injections or insert catheters in Germany, Mian Deveza-Grau of the Filipino Diaspora organization told DW FilNets eV: "They can't understand it. They ask, 'Why can't I do it?'"
Learning German - difficult to understand dialects
"I have to study a lot of German in the evening. That's why I don't have time. On weekends we have to prepare for the exam and the German course. And on Sundays we have to go to the German course," says one trainee from Vietnam describing her everyday life during the training. In this way, there is almost no time left for social contacts. In addition, there is a lot of bureaucracy. This is why mentoring support and understanding among colleagues is even more important.
Trainees and caregivers attend German language courses in their home countries and bring language certificates with them. But they often wait a long time before they can enter Germany. And in some regions of Germany, people speak dialects that are difficult to understand. FAU researchers recommend offering targeted language courses alongside work. To this end, institutions could network regionally.
Shifts for moms - it's good for everyone
Some changes in the organization of medical care could make life easier for everyone, researchers say. For example, there are early shift teams that insist that all patients be bathed by 8:30 a.m. so that the team can take a break. If a caregiver has to take her child to kindergarten and cannot rely on her family because she lives abroad, she can only start work at 8:30.
So why not introduce later shift starts for mums or dads? It would also help parents without a migrant background, and patients who like to sleep longer would be satisfied.
Discrimination and racism
"What advice would you give someone from abroad who wants to work in nursing in Germany," the researchers asked employees in the field. A woman from Guinea, who has lived in Germany for more than ten years and now already has German citizenship, answered as follows: "That she will definitely experience racism."
The study shows that this is not an isolated case. Hospitals and nursing homes, according to the survey, are making efforts to raise awareness among their employees. However, the same can hardly be said for patients and their families. Tobias Weidinger says, "If a person who needs care says, 'I don't want a black person to take care of me,' then things get difficult."
Discrimination against minorities exists in all areas of life, as other studies show - in state institutions, public transport, on the street or in the real estate market. And it depends on the society as a whole whether the caregivers will feel comfortable, says Štefan Kordel. "Experiences of discrimination and racism influence the decision of whether one stays - or leaves the institution, place of residence, and even Germany itself," he says.
Filipino caregivers are also concerned about right-wing populism, according to Deveza-Grau. Some of the caregivers say, "I'll try. If I don't succeed, I'll go somewhere else." Canada, for example, is actively recruiting them.
Care in Germany - stay or move on?
People want to be accepted and feel at home, the study says: "I'll stay where my family is good. Where I'm not bullied, where I have friends."
Researchers from the FAU Erlangen–Nuremberg University recommend more networking between political decision makers, mediators and care institutions – especially with people who have immigrated themselves. Filipino organizations also want it, says Mian Deveza-Grau: "There's a lot of talk about the skilled workers who have come - but no one is talking to them."
Today, it is clear to many that the so-called welcoming culture, notes researcher Weidinger. "What is still missing is a culture that encourages people to stay. Achieving the inclusion, integration and retention of migrants is a marathon," he says. And the goal, he adds, is "to create attractive long-term working and living conditions, taking into account the specific needs of migrants. Only then can we create attractive working and living conditions for everyone."
Source: DW
