Paper
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Factors Contributing to Nurse Migration
Linda McGillis Hall, RN, PhD, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| Learning Objective #1: Learners will develop an understanding of the key factors in the work environment that contribute to nurse migration. |
| Learning Objective #2: Learners will understand the leadership and policy changes required to enhance nurse retention in origin countries |
Background: Little attempt has been made to determine why nurses leave their home country, remain outside it, or under what circumstances might return. Although many nurses have left Canada, there is little knowledge of the reasons why they leave to work elsewhere.
Conceptual Framework : Theories of human capital suggest that devoting resources to the education, career development, and orientation of individuals constitutes an investment that will produce future returns for an organization. The underlying principles of human capital are that individuals possess skills, experience and knowledge that have an economic value to the organization.
Purpose: The purpose of the research is to gain an understanding of why Canadian nurses have left the country to work as nurses elsewhere.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all Canadian-trained nurses working in North Carolina, a state known to attract large numbers of Canadian nurses was conducted in 2005 and 2006. The response rate was 66% for this survey.
Results: Results indicate that the majority of Canadian nurses were seeking full-time employment. Contrary to popular belief in Canada, nurses do not migrate for the salary or educational incentives offered. Enrollment in ongoing education and/or nursing programs is not high. Evidence of feeling more “valued” in the US predominated.
Conclusions/Implications for Practice: This study provides the first evidence using primary data collection 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. Incentives that are important to nurse retention are identified. These data can serve to inform government and policy-makers about the career interests of these nurses. This study is the first cross jurisdictional research between a multidisciplinary team of investigators exploring the impacts of nurse migration in different countries.