Status holders with a healthcare diploma will work as a healthcare assistant at the UMCG in Groningen. According to Arthur Wijsmuller, surgeon and initiator of the plan, the beneficiaries also learn Dutch faster because they are working. They must first have achieved a certain language level to start working in the hospital.
“We think it’s important that we can continue to treat people,” he explains why he started this plan. This was not possible during the corona period. “There were no places for people to sleep in after surgery, for example.” Those places were not there due to a shortage of nurses.
He says it is a win-win situation. The status holder benefits and so does the hospital. Normally, a process to get started as a healthcare employee takes a lot of time. “The knife can cut both ways. If we can train those people who have medical knowledge in a faster process, or have them learn the Dutch language, it will not only benefit them and their families. But we, medical specialists too.”
So far, interviews have been held with 22 candidates with a background as a nurse. There are five more conversations with people with an operation background. About seventeen status holders are eligible to get started. “It’s still at a very early stage.”