International Opportunities for Nurses

Nursing is a noble and virtuous occupation. It is often both a personally and financially rewarding career, and ideal work for those who want to serve humanity. Apart from innumerable openings in domestic sectors, nurses who earn international nursing certifications and fulfil the prescribed immigration criteria relocate to greener pastures abroad.

Worldwide, there is a growing shortage of nurses. The number of professional nurses entering the job market falls far short of the numbers needed to replace an ageing nursing workforce, those emigrating to more inviting job markets, and early retirements. There is high demand for highly trained nurses in Australia, Canada, the UK, European countries and the USA. In fact, India has risen as the highest provider of nurses to foreign countries.

The global shortage of nurses has been acknowledged by the multidisciplinary Global Advisory Team of the World Health Organization. The deficit is driven by an increased need for nurses while fewer people take up nursing as a career, and the current nursing workforce worldwide is ageing.

Canada faces a serious shortage of registered nurses. A nationwide study published by the Canadian Nurses Association forecasts a shortage in Canada (except Quebec) of between 59,000 and 113,000 nurses. Nurses in high demand include: registered nurse, intensive care nurse, geriatric nurse, nurse technician, nurse educator and recovery room nurse.

The population of the USA is projected to grow significantly, with the population over 65 increasing at roughly three times the overall rate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Projections, the Registered Nursing workforce is among the top occupations for job growth, with the number of employed nurses growing from 2.74 million in 2010 to a projected 3.45 million by 2020.

Australia faces the possibility of a rising shortfall of qualified nurses; the national training plan initiated by Health Workforce Australia forecasts a workforce gap of between 80,000 and 147,000 nurses by 2025. The National Nursing Research Unit at King's College London has predicted the UK may need to re-establish overseas recruitment to meet rising demand caused by an ageing population. Europe faces a severe shortfall as well: by 2030, 25% of the European population is predicted to be above 65, and a substantial proportion of the nursing workforce in Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy is already over 45.

If a professional nurse wants to work in a foreign country, it is mandatory to register with the nursing council of that country. The procedure differs from country to country. If your level of education is below the standard, the nursing council may ask you to attend additional training — e.g., ONP in the UK, the Bridging Programme in Australia, CAP in New Zealand — or to qualify in a licensing exam: in the USA you must clear CGFNS/NCLEX-RN, in Canada CRNE, etc.

Apart from the above, one must be proficient in the English language. The commonly accepted test for this is IELTS — the world's most popular English language test for higher education and immigration, jointly conducted by the British Council, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and IDP Education. The Academic version is for those who want to enrol in universities or seek professional registration, while the General Training version is for migration and work purposes.