Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6240026 | Health Policy | 2012 | 10 Pages |
Ireland began actively recruiting nurses internationally in 2000. Between 2000 and 2010, 35% of new recruits into the health system were non-EU migrant nurses. Ireland is more heavily reliant upon international nurse recruitment than the UK, New Zealand or Australia.This paper draws on in-depth interviews (NÂ =Â 21) conducted in 2007 with non-EU migrant nurses working in Ireland, a quantitative survey of non-EU migrant nurses (NÂ =Â 337) conducted in 2009 and in-depth interviews conducted with key stakeholders (NÂ =Â 12) in late 2009/early 2010.Available primary and secondary data indicate a fresh challenge for health workforce planning in Ireland as immigration slows and nurses (both non-EU and Irish trained) consider emigration. Successful international nurse recruitment campaigns obviated the need for health workforce planning in the short-term, however the assumption that international nurse recruitment had 'solved' the nursing shortage was short-lived and the current presumption that nurse migration (both emigration and immigration) will always 'work' for Ireland over-plays the reliability of migration as a health workforce planning tool. This article analyses Ireland's experience of international nurse recruitment 2000-2010, providing a case study which is illustrative of health workforce planning challenges faced internationally.