Migration is not a recent phenomenon; it has been a part of the human history since its very beginning of time. Migration is defined as a process of moving, either across an interna¬tional border, or within a country. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are 1 billion migrants in the world today, of whom 214 million are international migrants and 740 millions internal migrants (WHO 2008). The globalized world of today is defined by profound disparities, demographic imbalances, labor skill shortages, economic and political crises, and natural as well as man-made disasters. The lack of economic opportunities and lack of prospects of career advancement is a driving force behind the migration of skilled workers. At the same
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The WHO recognizes migration as essential for some societies to compensate for demographic trends and skill shortages in home communities. Thus, every year, more nurses follow the millions of migrants worldwide who travel elsewhere to seek better economic, social, or political situations. Traditionally, most nurses travel for educational opportunities or access to resources for their practice, while others seek to be more autonomous (Kingma, 2006). Nurses’ migration is influenced by a demand that benefits multiple industries. Due to critical nursing shortages, the international migration has become a multi-billion dollar industry supporting all sorts of business ventures either through education, through companies that facilitate immigration, recruitment agencies, travel agencies, and even telephone companies that cater to the immigrant nurse that wants to call home (Kingma, …show more content…
Once these nurses have attained their qualifications and completed their visas application, their next step is learning how to adjust in a new country and with new cultural expectations. Kingma (2006) finds this to be a critical issue for nurses because although they have a license to practice, they are unfamiliar with the health system, and some of them may experience problems with communication. Some nurses often lack social complexities such as ethnophysiology, domestic health care practices, and social organization of clinical interactions and cultural competency (Kingma, 2006). Language and cultural differences are often reported as sources of difficulty for migrant nurses. Because of the presence of an accent, immigrant nurses often have language difficulties, even when their native language is the same as that of the recipient country. Furthermore, foreign-educated nurses may have a different level of education or language ability, which could affect patient safety or quality of patient care. In wake of the nursing shortage, nurse migration has challenged policy makers and health officials to address the ethical, financial, social, political, and health implications surrounding the issue (Padilla, 2006). An increase in the migration of nurses from their home countries to recipient countries is having a global effect on the healthcare system for both countries,
The WHO recognizes migration as essential for some societies to compensate for demographic trends and skill shortages in home communities. Thus, every year, more nurses follow the millions of migrants worldwide who travel elsewhere to seek better economic, social, or political situations. Traditionally, most nurses travel for educational opportunities or access to resources for their practice, while others seek to be more autonomous (Kingma, 2006). Nurses’ migration is influenced by a demand that benefits multiple industries. Due to critical nursing shortages, the international migration has become a multi-billion dollar industry supporting all sorts of business ventures either through education, through companies that facilitate immigration, recruitment agencies, travel agencies, and even telephone companies that cater to the immigrant nurse that wants to call home (Kingma, …show more content…
Once these nurses have attained their qualifications and completed their visas application, their next step is learning how to adjust in a new country and with new cultural expectations. Kingma (2006) finds this to be a critical issue for nurses because although they have a license to practice, they are unfamiliar with the health system, and some of them may experience problems with communication. Some nurses often lack social complexities such as ethnophysiology, domestic health care practices, and social organization of clinical interactions and cultural competency (Kingma, 2006). Language and cultural differences are often reported as sources of difficulty for migrant nurses. Because of the presence of an accent, immigrant nurses often have language difficulties, even when their native language is the same as that of the recipient country. Furthermore, foreign-educated nurses may have a different level of education or language ability, which could affect patient safety or quality of patient care. In wake of the nursing shortage, nurse migration has challenged policy makers and health officials to address the ethical, financial, social, political, and health implications surrounding the issue (Padilla, 2006). An increase in the migration of nurses from their home countries to recipient countries is having a global effect on the healthcare system for both countries,