The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43256

José Ramón Fernández-Peña, MD, MPA, Department of Health Education, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. HSS-301, San Francisco, CA 94132-4162 and Mary Beth Love, PhD, Health Education, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, SCI 394, San Francisco, CA 94132, (415) 338-2708, jrfp@sfsu.edu.

Communities of color comprise over 50% of the population of California. The growth rates in these groups are compounded by higher birth rates and immigration factors. As the state population becomes more diverse, the health sector faces new challenges in attempting to deliver quality services in a culturally and linguistically competent manner. Efforts to address these challenges have typically focused on increasing the skills of the incumbent workforce (e.g. integrating concepts of diversity and cultural competency in the curriculum of health professions.)

Funded by The California Endowment, the Welcome Back project proposes an asset-based approach to achieving cultural, racial, and linguistic parity between the population and the health workforce of California. To achieve this goal, the project attempts to locate, assess, and offer counseling and training to internationally trained health professionals, currently residing in California, who are either un-employed or under employed in the health sector. As of December 2001, the Welcome Back project has identified over 1000 such professionals in its 4 centers across the State.

Through a series of focus groups and interviews, program staff has identified a series of key barriers that have prevented these individuals from re-entering the health workforce. Based on these findings, the program has developed a case management model to carefully guide program participants through the process of either obtaining the necessary licenses to practice their profession in the US or considering new career goals that build on their skills.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to

• Recognize some of the untapped assets of immigrant communities.
• Discuss the challenges that internationally trained health professional encounter when they arrive in the US.
• Identify successful strategies to develop similar programs in their communities.

Keywords: Workforce, Community Involvement

Related Web page: www.e-welcomeback.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.