Welcome To the Chicago Bilingual Nurse Consortium
Dedicated to helping you reach your career aspirations
Our focus is to prepare internationally educated nurses to achieve licensure in Illinois.
Who is CBNC?
We’re a 501(c)(3) non-for profit organization that serves internationally educated nurses (IENs), living in Chicago and surrounding communities, who have not yet met the requirements for registered nurse (RN) licensure in Illinois.
Our Mission
Our mission is to increase the number of internationally educated nurses for practice as bilingual, bicultural nurses in metropolitan Chicago and surrounding communities through advocacy, education and supportive services.
Support CBNC
CBNC operates solely on grants and donations. These support CBNC operations and assist candidates as available with fees for testing and licensure preparation
Why Choose Us
We are a team of professionals passionate in our work.
Our goals include:
Address barriers and challenges in the recruitment and licensure of internationally educated nurses.
Coordinate services for internationally educated nurses across professional organizations and the workforce.
Assist internationally educated nurses to navigate the health care, immigration and education systems to secure licensure as registered professional nurses in Illinois.
IN THE NEWS
Given the high demand for nurses overall, one might assume that RNs from other countries could easily transition to nursing in the United States. Not so. The journey requires years of hard work, a lot of red tape and money.
ACCLIMATING TO U.S. HEALTH CARE: IN THE WORDS OF AN INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED NURSE
An interview with Marlene Carbullido, Executive Director, Guam Board of Nurse Examiners
BILINGUAL NURSES IMPROVE PATIENT SAFETY
In 2013, nearly 62 million U.S. residents — 21% of the population — spoke a language other than English in the home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Through CBNC I learned how to use critical thinking and problem solving to answer questions. The instructor gave me the support and encouragement I needed to be successful and pursue my BSN.
Heleine Kaha, RN
