"To paraphrase Pete Seeger's popular ballad from the 1960s:

"♪Where have all the nurses gone?♫

"♫To the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada every one ... ♪"



A random snippet from Gary L. Chamberlain's timely article, Nursing Shift. In the Jesuit magazine, America. Monday, March 28, 2011.


"Where can the nation obtain qualified nurses?

"From abroad, of course.

"To paraphrase Pete Seeger's popular ballad from the 1960s: Where have all the nurses gone? To the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, every one.

"Currently, about 5 percent of all nurses in the United States are foreign - educated.

"In 2003 foreign - educated nurses made up 14 percent of all newly licensed nurses; the proportion continues to rise.

"Most of the recruiting has been undertaken by health care agencies using private organizations and government agencies.

"More recently private, for - profit agencies have entered the market with little regulation nationally or internationally.

"These agencies, many of which are run by private individuals, often operate on behalf of developed countries.

"The recruitment process raises a host of ethical questions:

"Is such recruitment simply the operation of the free market in a globalized economy?

"If so, are nurses now seen as commodities?"

Man, that kind of makes you think, huh??!! :)