Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Analysis and Studies of Nursing Education
Developing an Understanding of Canadian-Trained Nurses in the United States
Linda McGillis Hall, RN, PhD, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Learning Objective #1: Participants will have the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the differences between Canadian RNs who work in the US and US nurses.
Learning Objective #2: Participants will learn some of the reasons why nurses choose to migrate to other countries
Background: Little or no attempt has been made to determine why nurses leave Canada, remain outside of Canada, or under what circumstances might return to Canada. Although many nurses have left Canada, there is little knowledge or understanding of the reasons why they leave to work in the U.S.
Conceptual Framework : Theories of human capital suggest that devoting resources to the education, career development, and orientation constitutes an investment that will produce future returns for an organization.
Purpose: The general purpose of the research is to gain an understanding of Canadian-trained RNs in the U.S. 
Methods: A retrospective research design was used to address the study objectives using the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSS) datasets for the years 1996 and 2000.
Results: Results of the first phase of the study indicate that the majority of nurses migrating to the U.S. come from the Phillipines, followed by Canada, the U.K., and other countries. A modest decline in the migration of Canadian nurses to the U.S. was noted, while an increase was noted from the Phillipines. By far the majority of Canadian nurses get full-time work in hospitals in the U.S., with an increasing trend noted over time. Canadian migrant nurses are slightly more experienced than the average U.S. nurse in the database, and have corresponding income differences. Contrary to popular belief in Canada, the majority of migrants to the U.S. do not migrate for the educational incentives offered. 
Conclusions/Implications for Practice: This study provides the first evidence of the types of nurses that chose to leave Canada to pursue nursing careers in the U.S., including information about their education, the types of employment options and positions they seek, and their job satisfaction. These data can serve to inform government and policy-makers about the career interests of these nurses.

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