Nurse migration study unveiled

Feb 03, 2010 News

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– Reveals money is not the only pull factor

By Sharmain Cornette

Money is not necessarily the primary factor that has been forcing the migration of nurses to developed countries. This assertion is based on a survey conducted by Jamaica-based doctor, Una Reid, through collaboration between the local Ministry of Health and the Pan-American Health Organisation.
With her years of experience, Dr. Reid has been able to produce findings to ascertain the level of local nurse migration using three patterns of migration — out, internal and return. The target audience for the study included health workers drawn from nine of the country’s 10 administrative regions. Region One was not included in the survey.

At a workshop yesterday, which saw the attendance of various stakeholders, the report on the findings were presented even as recommended retention strategies for the nursing workforce were highlighted, with the aim of determining their suitability for the local health sector.
According to Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Representative, Dr Kathleen Israel, the study can be considered a landmark undertaking as the issue of nursing migration has been one that has been challenging for countries in the Caribbean and even the developed world for quite some time. She noted that the phenomenon of migration is not new, neither unusual, but is in fact ‘as old as time itself’. However, in recent times, an unusual development has surfaced which takes the form of ‘deliberate poaching’ by the developed countries on the nursing complement in the developing countries, especially those where English is the spoken language, Dr Israel highlighted. This state of affairs, she said, has served to open a whole new opportunity for nurses to move in numbers that are unprecedented in the Caribbean.
It was against this very background, she revealed, that the Caricom Secretariat sometime ago had discussed the possibility of a Managed Migration Initiative for nurses and other health professionals. “I don’t know that that ever came to anything, because of course, the managed migration initiative brings with it a number of complexities. So I don’t think that ever saw the light of day.” Accordingly, individual countries are left with the challenge of determining what the best strategies are to retain trained people, Dr. Israel further asserted.
It has been the common perception that the principal reason for nurses’ migration is the need for more money, which according to Dr. Reid’s study, is not necessarily the case. “We heard in this study from nurses themselves. Over 200 nurses in Guyana were involved in this study,” Dr. Israel revealed.
The findings of the study, she said, will help the Ministry of Health, developmental agencies such as PAHO and the nursing community to develop the relevant strategies and be able to take the kinds of action that will impact the issue of migration.

For this reason, yesterday’s workshop was intended to look at some of the proposed strategies formulated by Dr. Reid, based on the findings of the study, in order to have them ratified and possibly implemented.
Participation from the various stakeholders was deemed as essential, as according to Dr. Israel it is not her desire to see the study shelved like many other previous research findings. “I am urging all of the participants to work very hard and identify specific actions that must be taken to address this issue of nurse migration and to address the proposed strategies for retention.”
Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, opined that Guyana has been fortunate over the last several years to attract talented and competent people to work in the health sector even in the face of challenges which are in fact not unique to this country. According to the minister, migration is one of the sore topics when it comes to health care providers globally. In fact, he noted, it is one of the divides between the North and the South.
“The South’s problem is more severe, because the North has a problem and the North simply is in a better position to respond to the problem.”
The Minister disclosed that at the moment there are between 60 and 70 million health care providers in the world, an amount which represents a shortage. He related that both human resource and public health experts have estimated that there is need for another five to 20 million health care providers worldwide, thus the need for Guyana to put measures in place to retain its trained professionals.
According to Dr. Ramsammy, the ministry will be seeking to address issues such as working conditions and other factors that affect health workers leading to their migration.

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