Vasco Lopes Da Silva

Before he recruited nurses to the US from overseas, Vasco Lopes Da Silva worked in healthcare but eventually came to the US for a new career. Today, he leads recruitment for Conexus MedStaff, a healthcare staffing firm dedicated to helping international registered nurses, nursing graduates and medical technologists realize their dream of having a nursing career in the US. 

While he was familiar with the industry and liked working with people, Lopes Da Silva admits the learning curve was steep. “We take the candidates through licensing, credentialing, immigration, relocation and education with a hands-on supportive approach,” he explains. “This is a multi-year process with lots of operational steps, but it’s very rewarding to see the impact we are having on people’s lives.”

After working for a competitor for a few years, Lopes Da Silva joined Conexus in 2020. At the time, the organization focused on registered nurses with verifications that were ready for immigration to the US, but this limited the candidate pool. To solve this challenge, he launched an NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) sponsorship program to help foreign nurses attain their license to work in the US.

He built from scratch a process, workflow and team to support candidates and prepare them to work in the US. Since inception, the number of nurses who have taken the US-required NCLEX exam through the Conexus program has increased fourfold. 

Even post pandemic, Lopes Da Silva hasn’t seen the demand slowing down; in fact, new challenges have emerged. But he is ready to face them head on, saying, “We will continue to invest in recruiting while simultaneously supporting the organization for process and tech improvement to support the growth.”