Are Chinese nurses a viable source to relieve U.S. nursing shortage?

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2003

Publication Title

Nursing Economics

Volume

21

Issue

6

First page number:

269

Last page number:

279

Abstract

Nurse shortage has become a global issue. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the majority of member states of the World Health Organization have reported some degree of nurse shortage (ICN, 2002). The shortage has been more pronounced in developed countries. Although international recruitment of nurses has been going on for decades, it has intensified in the last few years, particularly in Britain, Canada, and the United States. Nurse shortage in the United States is a cyclic phenomenon. However, the current shortage has taken place in different national and international contexts and is unlikely to be resolved within a foreseeable period of time (Buerhaus, Steiger, & Auerbach, 2000).

In this article, international nurse migration to the United States is examined in the global context through the push-pull theoretical framework. In particular, the viability of recruiting Chinese nurses to ease the current U.S. nurse shortage is explored by assessing their socioeconomic conditions and educational preparation. It is not only possible, but also feasible, for U.S. health care providers to recruit Chinese nurses. Providing the opportunity to work in the Untied States is a win-win scenario to individual Chinese nurses, the Chinese nursing profession, China, and United States.

Keywords

China; Chinese; Nurses; Foreign; Nurses – Education; Nurses — Supply and demand; United States

Disciplines

Nursing | Nursing Administration | Other Nursing

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited


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