Female nurses of different races posing for a nursing add promoting nurse recruitment for international nurses to come to the US.
(NRS: Nurses "R" Special, 2007)
One issue related to this topic is the effect of nurse migration on the sending country. Most of the nurses leave a country for the reasons mentioned above. These are known as the “push” factors (Kingma, 2001). There are also “pull” factors, which are the attractions of the receiving country (Kline, 2003). One of the obvious effects of this migration is that if the nurses are leaving an underdeveloped country to find jobs elsewhere, then that country has less nurses to care for their population. This places greater demand on the nurses that remain behind in the workforce, which means that patient care will deteriorate (Kline, 2003). In some cases this could mean increased mortality rates and even cause some institutions to be shut down ( McElmurry, 2006). While the nurses who migrate to other countries and receive better pay do send money back to their families, this increased economic aid cannot balance out the decline in the healthcare system (McElmurry, 2006; Buchan, 2006).
Three nurses working together showing the racial diversity of the nursing workforce in the US due to nurse migration.
(Preparation for CGFNS for Nurses)
Another issue is that of the effect of nurse migration on the receiving country. The major countries on this end are the US, the UK and Australia (Kline, 2003). For the most part this has a beneficial effect for these countries because although they are major industrial countries, they are not exempt from the nursing shortage. So the influx of immigrant nurses helps alleviate the nursing shortage in the receiving countries by providing skilled nurses available for work (Kline, 2003). However, this nurse migration is beneficial to the receiving countries only temporarily. Since these countries are focusing on filling the nursing shortage with immigrant nurses, they neglect the necessity of resolving the actual issue behind the shortage. If these countries avoid dealing with the real issue, they are going to have a problem when the supply of immigrant nurses begins to dwindle or becomes depleted.
A logo for an organization promoting nurse migration.
(Nurse Immigration USA, 2008)
The migration of nurses from one country to another, usually from a developing country to an industrial country, has become a major factor in the global nursing shortage. It increases the nursing shortage in the sending countries, and it prevents the shortage from being dealt with in the receiving countries because they have found a temporary solution. But because this issue is of such importance to the nursing profession, it needs to be brought to the attention of present and future nurses so that it can be resolved.
A graph showing the number of foreign nurses in the U.S.
(Health Affairs, 2004)
For Further Reading on Nurse Migration and the Nursing Shortage visit:
The Other Side of the Story
The Nursing Shortage: Lack of Nurse Educators
References
Buchan, J. (2006). The Impact of Global Nursing Migration on Health Services Delivery.Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 7(3), 16S-25S
Kingma, M. (2001). Nursing Migration: global treasure hunt or disaster-in-the-making?.Nursing Inquiry, 8, 205-212.
Kline, D. S. (2003). Push and Pull Factors in International Nurse Migration. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35(2), 107-111.
McElmurry, B. J., Solheim, K., Kishi, R., Coffia, M. A., Woith, W., Janepanish, P., et al. (2006). Ethical Concerns in Nurse Migration. Journal of Professional Nursing, 22(4), 226-235.
Three nurses working together showing the racial diversity of the nursing workforce in the US due to nurse migration.
(Preparation for CGFNS for Nurses)
Another issue is that of the effect of nurse migration on the receiving country. The major countries on this end are the US, the UK and Australia (Kline, 2003). For the most part this has a beneficial effect for these countries because although they are major industrial countries, they are not exempt from the nursing shortage. So the influx of immigrant nurses helps alleviate the nursing shortage in the receiving countries by providing skilled nurses available for work (Kline, 2003). However, this nurse migration is beneficial to the receiving countries only temporarily. Since these countries are focusing on filling the nursing shortage with immigrant nurses, they neglect the necessity of resolving the actual issue behind the shortage. If these countries avoid dealing with the real issue, they are going to have a problem when the supply of immigrant nurses begins to dwindle or becomes depleted.
A logo for an organization promoting nurse migration.
(Nurse Immigration USA, 2008)
The migration of nurses from one country to another, usually from a developing country to an industrial country, has become a major factor in the global nursing shortage. It increases the nursing shortage in the sending countries, and it prevents the shortage from being dealt with in the receiving countries because they have found a temporary solution. But because this issue is of such importance to the nursing profession, it needs to be brought to the attention of present and future nurses so that it can be resolved.
A graph showing the number of foreign nurses in the U.S.
(Health Affairs, 2004)
For Further Reading on Nurse Migration and the Nursing Shortage visit:
The Other Side of the Story
The Nursing Shortage: Lack of Nurse Educators
References
Buchan, J. (2006). The Impact of Global Nursing Migration on Health Services Delivery.Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 7(3), 16S-25S
Kingma, M. (2001). Nursing Migration: global treasure hunt or disaster-in-the-making?.Nursing Inquiry, 8, 205-212.
Kline, D. S. (2003). Push and Pull Factors in International Nurse Migration. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35(2), 107-111.
McElmurry, B. J., Solheim, K., Kishi, R., Coffia, M. A., Woith, W., Janepanish, P., et al. (2006). Ethical Concerns in Nurse Migration. Journal of Professional Nursing, 22(4), 226-235.
