Push and Pull Factors in International Nurse Migration

PURPOSE: To describe the push and pull factors of migration in relation to international recruitment and migration of nurses. ORGANIZING CONSTRUCT: Review of literature on nurse migration, examination of effects of donor and receiving countries, and discussion of ethical concerns related to foreign nurse recruitment. FINDINGS: The primary donor countries are Australia, Canada, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (UK); the primary receiving countries are Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the United States (US). The effects of migration on donor countries include the loss of skilled personnel and economic investment; receiving countries receive skilled nurses to fill critical shortages with less economic investment. Ethical concerns include the potential for exploitation of foreign nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses migrate to seek better wages and working conditions than they have in their native countries. Given the current conditions, developed countries continue to actively recruit foreign nurses to fill critical shortages. Migration is predicted to continue until developed countries address the underlying causes of nurse shortages and until developing countries address conditions that cause nurses to leave.