Nurses on the Move: A Global Overview, Essay Example

It is true that any nurse should be allowed to practice nursing wherever he or she desires and that this option means that the person would be happiest in the nursing position and would probably do a better job because of it. Therefore, nurses who choose to migrate to countries other than their own, even when there is a nursing shortage in their own country, should be allowed. However, according to the American Nurses Association, a country (particularly the U.S.) should not over-rely on the immigration of foreign-educated nurses and suggests that recruiting nurses from overseas when there is a shortage of nurses in other countries is inappropriate. It is stated that “he removal of foreign-educated nurses from areas such as South Africa, India, and the Caribbean deprives their home countries of highly-trained health care practitioners upon whose skills and talents their countries heavily rely” (ANA, n.d.). This is a viable concern.

A good point is made by pointing out that nurses can develop a better cultural awareness by traveling to other countries to practice nursing. Additionally, allowing for the nurses’ professional development by not discouraging migrating to countries other than their own is equally important. However, it is also a good point made about a nurse’s loyalty to his or her own country and the people there that need them. According to Kingma (2007), when nurses migrate to other countries, they often leave an already disadvantaged healthcare system behind, which makes working conditions in those healthcare facilities worse for the nurses that stay. This makes that country’s healthcare system weaker. But, then again, one cannot expect the nurses to shoulder the responsibility of other people in the country, when they have the opportunity to make life better for themselves.

References

ANA. (n.d.). Immigration and the Nurse Workforce. Retrieved from American Nurses Association: http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/GOVA/Federal/Federal-Issues/ImmigrationandWorkforce.html

Kingma, M. (2007, June). Nurses on the Move: A Global Overview. Health Services Research, 42(3), 1281-1298.