How an Immigrant-Founded New York City Career School Changed Thousands of Lives

Now they have a big school in midtown Manhattan, classrooms full of equipment, 20 years of practice, and thousands of graduates who work in hospitals and medical offices across America. And it all started with a rented desk in a small office in Brooklyn. We found out the secret of career school success Concord rusam.

Photo: IStock

All the most interesting always begins with a personal story. So in our case, the director Private Career School Concord Rusam Zinaida Freink conceived this school When did you start preparing for the exam? licensed nurse (NCLEX-RN). At that time, Zinaida had 25 years of medical experience behind her, the position of chief medical officer of a children's clinic, a teacher medical school and regional immunologist. But all this is in Russia. And in America - the lack of any experience and, most importantly, the language. In English courses exam preparation it was difficult because of the weak English, and the Russian speakers did not live up to the quality. And then I came up with the idea - to make such a preparation course for NCLEX-RN, where everything will be clear to new immigrants.

"I then met the future president of our company, Yuri Kurashvili, and suggested that he create NCLEX-RN exam preparation course. I really wanted to make the course “as for myself”, so I did my best not only to give knowledge, but also to rebuild the thinking of students so that they learn to think in American categories. We rented not even a separate room in Brooklyn, but just a table in the office, and advertised in various local newspapers. 4 people came to the first course!” – says Zinaida.

How the team was assembled

First, the founders of the school decided to hire an English-speaking teacher and invited a Filipino nurse to teach the course. But they quickly realized that it is very difficult to teach doctors from the post-Soviet space in the American manner - you need to understand the difference in approaches. Therefore, they began to look for teachers among those who themselves went the same way: retrained, passed exams and began working in American clinics. Many of the teachers who came to the school 20 years ago are still teaching courses here. At the same time, all of them are practicing physicians and, in addition to lecturing, continue to work in their specialty. It is her team that Zinaida is most proud of.

"Most of our teachers are bilingual - they know Russian and English. Now I have begun to separately emphasize for Ukrainians that we also have teachers who speak Ukrainian, I know that this is important. Classes are conducted in English, but you can always ask again in your native language if something is not clear. All our teachers recycle textbooks to fit the realities of students. They themselves prepare all sorts of handouts, usually there are a lot of tables and pictures in each course - to facilitate perception and memorization. We take into account that most of our students still have poor English. This is our forte and everyone loves it", - shares Zinaida.

On the subject: How can an immigrant get a profession in medicine that allows you to work from home and is suitable even for those who are afraid of doctors

Checks and mountains of equipment

After we managed to assemble a team of like-minded people, the school Concord rusam began to grow by leaps and bounds. Although at first I had to overcome many bureaucratic pitfalls. To formalize the creation of a career school, it was necessary to collect mountains of documents, approve new programs with the Department of Education, and prove that they have enough equipment to teach the medical professions. All this took about 2-3 years. And now, approximately every 5 years, the Department sends a check to the school to make sure that the level of teaching remains high.

"When we were just getting started Nurse Assistant course, we went to a school in Brooklyn to see how they teach this program. I was very struck by the almost complete lack of equipment they have. In the corner was a bed on which a mannequin lay, and next to it was a nightstand made from boxes. And that's all. I still don't understand how they even got a license. Because we were constantly checked and required to buy more and more inventory. For example: We bought two pillows, the inspector came and said: four are needed! Need three wheelchairs! (one is not enough). And iron, bath tub infants, cradle and so on and so forth. We have everything you need for learning, but this is not because we are afraid of tests, we just care about our students and want people not to study virtually, but to do everything with their own hands. We always mix theory with practice. Therefore, I do not understand schools that teach professions such as Nursing Assistant or Medical Assistant online", - says Zinaida.

Career as a rescue from depression

People studied in Concord rusam to full-fledged nurses, went on to work and reached the heights in their profession. Now many of them are already hiring people themselves. And they often call the school with a request to send new personnel - they know that they teach here honestly.

Zinaida recalls: “Many doctors become depressed after emigrating, especially men, because it seems to them that their career is over. Once a former director of the Institute of Blood Transfusion of Kyrgyzstan came to us to study, he was in a terrible depression. But he completed the courses, passed the Nurse exam and is working. People get younger right before our eyes when they get on their feet. We constantly keep in touch with our alumni. I remember we had a student, he came from Tashkent, where he graduated from the conservatory, was a conductor. And we learned to be a blood sampling specialist, and I helped him get a job. Now he has already become a manager, he calls me often, asking me to send new employees. Two of New York's largest dialysis centers are staffed by alumni who also started as nurses and have grown into leaders. There are many people who went on to study further, completed the master's program and became a Nurse Practitional, and they can already work as de facto doctors".

Only the most in-demand professions

The school has two directions - for those who had a medical education before emigration, and those who who it is not there, but they still want to get a profession in demand. For example, become a nurse's assistant (Nurse Assistant) or physician assistant at the reception (Medical Assistant), or a pharmacy employee (Pharmacy Technician), or learn how to draw blood taking an electrocardiogram (Phlebotomy technician и Electrocardiography Technician), or become a medical billing specialist (Medic Billing and coding). For all these certification Action, at the request of the Department of Education, it is possible to register people even with a regular school certificate or any other diploma.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New Y.

В Concord rusam constantly monitor what professions are currently in demand on the market, and create new ones programs approved by the New York State Department of Education. One of the top specialties at the moment - medical equipment sterilization technician. You can learn to become such a specialist in just 2 months, while only in New York today there are more than 300 vacancies for such a position, the same demand in other states.

"Therefore, of course, we made such a course- says Zinaida, - employees to sterilize equipment are needed in laboratories, medical offices, and, of course, in the hospitals themselves. The instructor who teaches this course is a NYU hospital manager in the sterilization department. She constantly makes videos from the workplace to show students live how it happens.".

Also recently, the school created a program that teaches specialties Electronic Health Records, which is also in great demand now, since all medical services are necessarily entered into a computer database. Well, from the very fresh novelties - the Security Guide profession. In fact, this is the position of a security guard. They decided to open such a program at the school in the last year - when they saw how many new men come to the USA and remain here without a specialty.

“This is also a very popular profession now, because any store, pharmacy, museum, bank needs security guards. The program is short, and the work is well paid - at the start, you can earn $ 18 per hour. You only need 2 lessons to get a school certificate. Then you can improve - get a permit to carry weapons and so on. The course is taught by a teacher who has worked in the police for 20 years and is now retired,” Zinaida explained.

Photo: IStock

Are you 50 years old? It's time to start your career!

In total, the school currently teaches 10 programs, while constantly monitoring the relevance of these professions. Thanks to such close attention, despite the fact that student employment Concord rusam does not guarantee that about 80% of graduates immediately find a job. The school also helps with this - it teaches how to write a resume, pass interviews, gives letters of recommendation, and, as the director jokes, “leads by the hand to the workplace.” In addition, they help to evaluate diplomas received abroad - this is a separate complex and long process, which is much easier to go through with the school.

Zinaida easily dispels the fears of her students, who are afraid of being left without a career. He says: in America, neither age nor lack of experience can become an obstacle to self-realization. The average age of school graduates is 50 years. And sometimes employers are even looking for specifically non-young people - they say they take work more seriously. This also applies to the specialty Registered Nurse (nurse), and Medical Assistant, and Medical Billing & Coding, etc.

“I always try to inspire hope in people. Students come to us confused, they say: my language is weak, I will not be able to pass exams and work. I always tell them: sit and study, no one gives you a deuce, doesn’t raise you from your seat and doesn’t disgrace you. You can study at your own pace. If a person has not passed the exam within a year after the end of the course NCLEX-RN, we allow you to repeat the course for free. If more than a year has passed, we give a 30-40% discount. Our goal is to help as many people as possible.”, emphasizes the director Concord rusam.

Over the course of 20 years, the school has changed its desk in Brooklyn to an office in Midtown Manhattan near Pennsylvania Station (on purpose to make it easier for students from other cities to get there), has become a certified place for passing national exams, and has helped thousands and thousands of students get back on their feet. Zinaida says that this is the most important thing for her - to be a guide for people on the new continent. And the most valuable thing is the memory of the students, because every day, and especially on holidays, her phone is torn from calls with thanks.

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