Helping International Healthcare Workers Transition to California's Healthcare System: The Welcome Back Model, International Health Workers Assistance Center

Demographic changes in California pose a challenge upon healthcare and educational institutions. As increasing numbers of immigrants and ethnic minorities attempt to access healthcare services, it becomes evident that traditional services and training methods must be reconstructed to include a plan that presents a suitable affinity to serve their culturally patterned healthcare needs. The need for an ethnically diverse and culturally competent healthcare workforce to respond to professional shortages is in most demand. To fill this gap in San Diego, an innovative program has been instituted since year 2001, the Welcome Back Program hosted by Grossmont College. With the financial support of The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, HRSA and local hospitals, Welcome Back has utilized a community asset based approach by immersing an untapped human resource,Internationally Trained Healthcare Professionals living in California. Over 2,600 physicians, dentists, nurses and other professionals, many unemployed or underemployed, have entered a career pipeline to navigate the educational system.Participants have been program oriented, case managed, accessed accelerated training programs and completed academic reciprocity in order to advance professional candidacy and obtain certificates/licenses to practice or diversify their professions in California. The Welcome Back Center approach, has provided the opportunity for the healthcare delivery system to: 1) improve disparities between the ethnic make up of the patient population and a diverse workforce; 2) provide linguistically and culturally competent services; 3) improve patient care outcomes of underserved populations in a border health region.