The People Among Us

We all know someone from a foreign country who has to let go all that he/she knew and begin a new life. We also know how much and how long it takes to acquire a college education in terms of dedication, time and financial resources—and it is twice this for medical school and many other healthcare disciplines. Now, imagine you were that person who, for one reason or another, had to leave your country of birth to start life afresh without use of your healthcare worker background. You cannot find work in the United States in the field you were trained because you do not have the necessary license or credentials or you need additional education…

How MCC Can Help

Project Bridge is a one-stop resource for the region's untapped healthcare workforce. MCC helps with every aspect of the process to re-enter the healthcare field in the region.

This program benefits people who have education and experience in the healthcare profession from an institution outside of the United States but for one reason or another are not able to practice within their trained professions. The new culture, language and licensure regulations may be a hindrance to the acquisition of licensure to practice within the United States. MCC can assist program participants in the resolution of any personal barriers to licensure, as well as help plan out career goals.

An Institute of Medicine report found that minorities and non-English speakers have greater difficulty accessing healthcare services and tend to receive a lower quality of healthcare even when they are insured (Unequal Treatment 2002). Ethnic minority patients report less involvement in care, lower levels of trust in providers and less satisfaction with care (Cooper-Patrick 1999, Doesher 2000, Boulware 2003, Saha 1999). Research shows that patients and providers of the same background work well together; hence, the need for health professionals to be representative of the communities they serve (Cooper–Rowe 2004).

Project Bridge fills this gap through the recruitment of internationally trained healthcare workers who are either unemployed or underemployed due to lack of licensure in the U.S. system. The program assists these individuals in paving a career path within healthcare through further studies or a change of careers within the healthcare field.