Web www.nursesnet.org

There is a general shortage of staff in nursing in many of the major industrialized countries. In the USA, this is caused by a combination of factors.The rapid increase of the birth rate at the end of WW II ("the baby boomers") results now in a large number of people being close to retirement. The positions they leave, have to be filled with younger members of society. The combination of an ageing nursing population, a continously growing population and a shortage of people entering the nursing profession, will in the USA alone, according to several observers (see Health Affairs, July/August 2009 - Dr Hans Buerhaus et all) who have made extensive studies of the subject, result in a projected shortage of about 260,000 registered nurses by 2025.

Other projections, such as the 2002 study by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, show a far higher shortfall of nursing staff.

Even during the current economic crisis when jobs are lost in almost every sector, the number of jobs in the healthcare industry have increased. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of healthcare jobs have grown by 544,000 since the recession began. The largest group of healthcare workers are nurses. The Council on Physician and Nurse Supply estimates (2008) that, in order to fulfill the demand for nurses, educational institutions in the USA have to graduate 30-32,000 nurses of all levels annually. Yet, they barely graduate 20,000 a year.

Attracting nurses from other countries is obviously one way to supplement the nursing shortfall in the USA and also in Canada. The pages of this site, besides showing general overseas job opportunities, are intended to help foreign nurses to understand the system of education and hiring, as well as finding jobs for nurses and related jobs in the USA, Canada, some European countries with nursing shortfalls, and Australia. The main focus of the site is the international, as well as USA and Canadian domestic markets for nursing employment.

Nurses not educated in the USA or in Canada have to go through a special certification process, to be able to work in these two countries. This is partly, because employers and health care regulators want to ensure that the educational level of foreign nurses is at least equivalent to those in the USA and Canada. But it is also a means to protect the domestic nursing labor market, from foreign nursing candidates undercutting the salaries currently paid in the North American market.

If you are a potential foreign candidate for a nursing job, you can find information on what is required in terms of certifications to be able to work in the USA and in some other countries, such as Canada, Switzerland and the UK. Links are also provided to national governing bodies for the nursing profession in selected countries.

In addition, we have some tools that will help you improve your resume writing skills and links to sites offering the job seeker improved interview techniques. You will also find a host of other useful skills and information in these pages.

Specialist Nursing Associations in the USA

There are numerous other specialist nursing organizations in the USA. But the ones mentioned above constitute the most important ones. If you are looking for your special nursing organization, use the above search engine link to the Google search engine.

Health Care Institutions and Foundations

Specialist Nurses Agencies in the USA

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Working in Europe is for many nurses a dream, though, with a few exceptions, salaries are not as high as in the United States. The traditional country, where people want to work, is the United Kingdom. This a is somewhat a historical legacy, especially for people from the Commonwealth. More recently Ireland has attracted a large number of foreign nurses as well. Most European countries operate some sort of national health service, where most hospitals and health services are provided by the state. Though, there are some countries, like Switzerland, which offer a large numbers of private health establishments that cater to foreign visitors and locals alike.

There is a shortage of nurses in some countries, like the UK and Switzerland. But there is a far greater shortage of carers for the elderly, not only in Switzerland and the UK, but also in Germany and France, in fact in most European countries. Though knowledge of the local language for these jobs, which are not necessarily well paid, is an absolute must.

Licensing for nurses in Europe is quite different from that in the United States and Canada, and a lot less restrictive. This does not mean, that it is easier. Traditionally, in most European countries, the nursing profession was one, which one learned through a 4 year apprenticeship, rather than a spell at University. Though, this is changing rapidly and for instance the UK announced, that all new nurses will have to have a degree from 2013 onwards. Other countries develop in the same way.

One of the problems foreign nurses have in finding jobs in Europe is, as has already been pointed out, language. Apart from the UK and Ireland, where, obviously, English is the language, foreign nurses have to speak German, French, Dutch, Italian or whatever the local language is, in order to get a license and a job in the respective countries.

The enlargement of the EU, has made it a lot easier for nationals of one country to work in another EU country. At the same time, it made it harder for South Africans, Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and nurses from the USA to get a work and residence permit, and then work in the EU or EFTA countries. But if you are well qualified, you should have not problem in finding a job!

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