ABSTRACT
No other event has put health care-and nursing-at the forefront of local, national, and global discussions in the same way as the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies suggest that immigrant nurses are a critical part of US health care, and we are increasingly reliant on the skills they bring and the care they provide. To quantify and qualify this contribution, CGFNS International designed a data-collection survey and distributed it to nearly 74,000 foreign-educated health care professionals currently practicing in the United States during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some challenges were reported, most nurses surveyed reported working with patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and having access to adequate personal protective equipment, and many felt the public perception of nurses has improved since the beginning of the pandemic. Continued research on the experiences of immigrant nurses during the ongoing global pandemic response and beyond could provide more comprehensive information on the immigrant nurses that drive the US health system.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In 2007 AcademyHealth published a landmark report on the U.S.-based international nurse recruitment industry. This article provides an update to that report, describing the current state of recruitment of foreign-educated health professionals (FEHPs), in particular foreign-educated nurses (FENs), to the United States. Areas covered include the regulatory landscape, economic issues, recruitment industry changes, and current demographic and migration trends. PURPOSE: To learn more, CGFNS International, Inc., formerly known as the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, and its Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices division conducted a study designed to elicit qualitative and quantitative data that would further illuminate the recruitment experience. METHODS: Researchers conducted a survey of FEHPs, recruited from those who used VisaScreen services between 2015 and 2017, designed to assess their recruitment experiences. They also conducted interviews with a smaller sample of FENs and recruiters to elicit greater detail. RESULTS: While there was evidence of progress relative to the ethical recruitment of FEHPs, issues such as high breach fees, inadequate orientation, and misalignment of expectations regarding work environment and location were also revealed. CONCLUSION: Given that FEHP migration to the United States is likely to continue its upward trajectory, better strategies to implement market-wide practices that ensure the safe, orderly, and ethical recruitment of FEHPs are needed.
