Migrant nurses need more support

When I first came to New Zealand in 2011 to practise nursing, the message resonating was that New Zealand needed internationally qualified nurses (IQNs). The process of becoming an IQN was a considerable personal journey, including gaining registration, and its associated costs, severing family ties, assimilating into a new culture" all these factors must be considered by IQNs. I consider myself and my international migrant nursing peers to have contributed to the so-called "international migration" of health professionals, in particular nurses. The international migration of nurses, in response to global and specific country nurse shortages, fuelled by ageing and chronicity of conditions of given populations, is a well-researched phenomenon. However, there are still some grey areas that need to be addressed. One of these is examining how countries in need of nurses attract and retain IQNs in the future.