Appreciative Recognition 

INGA Pflege is a new occupational-integrated compensation measure (a training course that addresses differences between international and German qualifications) for international nurses. The nursing and healthcare companies therefore have a reliable and sustainable integration-promoting concept for a professional alignment course, through which the internationally recruited nurses receive the recognition of their vocational qualification in Germany. As a professional alignment course, INGA Pflege combines efficient professional recognition, sustainable induction training in the host facility and a strengthening of the communicative expertise in the profession. INGA Pflege is currently being pilot tested in three locations in Hamburg, Brandenburg, and Saxony. Another location is in preparation.

What are the advantages of this compensation measure?
INGA Pflege is a path to operationally-close professional recognition. The aim is for the nurses to be employed as skilled workers on a regular and trained basis, immediately after their recognition. To this end, INGA Pflege combines an intensive integration of subject and language learning with a high degree of guided practical experience at the future workplace, right from the beginning. In this way, the qualification can be carried out in a practical manner at the workplace. At the same time, INGA Pflege incorporates intensive language support and preparation for the GER B 2 language exam.

INGA Pflege makes it easier for international nurses to get started and promotes sustainable integration into their company right from the beginning.

INGA Pflege is an occupational integrated compensation measure for nurses with integrated language training. The professional alignment course can be completed by nurses from the Philippines with the language level GER B1 in about 6.5 months. The measure is made up of guided practical experience in the host facility, theoretical and practical teaching and integrated language promotion. The teaching units are implemented in tandem by a nursing specialist and a language specialist – so-called team teaching. Language-communicative and nursing-specialist expertise are taught, intensified and reflected on in a work-oriented context. Professional self-assurance in everyday working situations is the centre of focus.

Work-oriented means that the nurses undergoing recognition are employed during the period of the measure in the host facility. A prerequisite of the Skilled Workers Immigration Law (FEG) from a residence-legal perspective, is that living costs are covered during the compensation measure. This also means that the measure including the language elements, are a substantial part of the employment relationship and therefore take place during working hours. This means that additional workloads for the international nurses during this challenging phase of professional recognition are avoided.

In addition to this core meaning, “professionally integrated” also means that it is basically possible to carry out the measure completely in one facility. For your facility this means that with INGA Pflege, international nurses can already gain experience in everyday professional life as part of the recognition procedure. By getting to know the workflows and teams, the induction training even begins during the measure. The high proportion of practical experience promotes a sustainable recruitment process.

With INGA Pflege, integrated language training represents the didactic concept of integrated subject and language learning.
The integrated subject-specific and language learning is implemented within the framework of INGA Pflege through a partnership between nursing specialist and language teachers as team teaching. The continuous team teaching during the course ensures that the subject content is fully understood with the existing knowledge of German. At the same time, it significantly increases the language and communication abilities of the skilled workers undergoing recognition, so that they can cope with the requirements in the classroom and in practice.

Due to the cooperation between nursing specialist and language teachers in the planning and implementation of the subject lessons, the responsibilities are sensibly distributed among all those involved in the qualification process. Teaching tools can thus be used flexibly and purposefully.
The team teaching offers many advantages for the learners: lessons are more varied, the learners get feedback faster and individuals can be supported better.

There are also opportunities associated with team teaching for teachers: during the implementation of team teaching, they can expand their specialist and methodological knowledge, the joint planning of the lessons conveys more security and can relieve them of the burden of preparing and designing lessons.
Team teaching makes it possible for technical content and linguistic knowledge to be taught in an integrated way – an increase in learning in both areas is thereby achieved.

The use of the concept and related materials as well as the support from the DKF are free of charge during the pilot period until September 2023.

You must calculate the cost of the measure individually for your facility. The calculation of the costs is composed of and depends on:

• Personnel costs for teachers, language teachers and practice instructors

• Room costs for the tuition

• Teaching and learning materials

• Working materials

• Examination fees for language exams

You are considering implementing INGA Pflege for your nurses recruited from abroad? These are the prerequisites that you must meet at your location:

• Facilities suitable for the implementation of INGA Pflege are: Hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient care services
• You have an interest and commitment to the implementation of INGA Pflege
• You have a person who will take responsibility for the implementation in your facility
• 416 hours of guided practical experience can be carried out in your facility. Of these, qualified practice instructors are available for 134 hours.
• For the implementation of the theoretical and practical lessons, you have the possibility of partnering with a state-accredited school of nursing
• For the time of implementation, you have the possibility of partnering with a language teacher
• Important: In your federal state, the federal government and the responsible authorities must agree to the implementation of INGA Pflege. The DKF takes over the communication for this.

If you do not yet meet all of these prerequisites, we will be happy to support you!

• The DKF offers interested employers an initial consultation on the compensation measure INGA Pflege.
• The DKF coordinates workshops for facilities on the planning and preparation of the compensation measure INGA Pflege.
• The DKF promotes operational integration management through advice on
  Welcome Culture & Integration Toolbox.
• Together with employers, the DKF develops communication channels between the stakeholders involved in the implementation (e.g. GIM and poss. IQ Landesnetzwerke).
• During the entire implementation, the DKF is the contact person for employers and offers support if necessary.
• After the implementation of INGA Pflege, the DKF will be happy to support you in the evaluation of the measure.
• The DKF supports coordination with responsible ministries and agencies in the respective federal state.

Do you have questions about INGA Pflege? Then take a look in our FAQs: There we answer frequently asked questions.

Then get in touch with us!

We offer all interested hospitals and nursing facilities an initial consultation on the compensation measure INGA Pflege.

Your contact partners for all queries:

Deutsches Kompetenzzentrum für internationale Fachkräfte in den Gesundheits- und Pflegeberufen (DKF)
im Kuratorium Deutsche Altershilfe (KDA)