Nursing Shortage becoming a global issue
Kenya and the rest of East Africa are in desperate need of nurses but can't afford to hire them, resulting in a mass exodus.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 10, 2006
NAIROBI, Kenya - Nurse Carolyne Mujibi went to work in Kenya's largest hospital after her father died there - from nursing neglect, she thinks. Too much work, too little pay and an assault by a frustrated patient chipped away at her desire to try to make a difference in Kenya.
She is preparing to leave to go work in the United States, hoping for greater job satisfaction and more material rewards, and joining a brain drain from the developing world to the West that experts worry is only making it harder for Africa to pull itself out of poverty.
Mujibi has spent the past four months studying in preparation for a U.S. nursing certification exam. She hopes to take advantage of proposed U.S. immigration laws that would allow more visas for nurses - part of America's latest strategy to deal with a growing shortage of primary health care providers in its hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities. European nations experiencing similar shortages also are destinations for skilled Africans.
Mujibi is among thousands of overworked, unemployed and underemployed nurses and other health professionals leaving East Africa's largest economy.
"Poverty is one thing that is pushing us out. ... I felt if I go out there I could be able to pay for my siblings" to get the best education and realize their ambitions, said Mujibi, who lives in single-room home that has space for only a bed, table, chair, suitcases and a pile of utensils.
"I just want to change life for my family," she said.
"One of the main criticisms about migration ... is sometimes the best and the brightest leave," said Dilip Ratha, a World Bank senior economist and expert on the brain drain phenomenon.
"That has implications on the delivery of critical services, especially in the health sector; it has implication also for the intellectual capital that the country needs for its own development," he said. "If the best and brightest leave, the country's brain is leaving in some ways ... and they can't take advantage of their own potential."
When i saw this also in a nursing blog, I also havent thought out how to respond to this shocking news, and I encourage you also to take a look. Its sad at how quickly the U.S. Nursing Shortage crisis is becoming a worldwide issue. continue
For more info: www.nursingagencystartup.com
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 10, 2006
NAIROBI, Kenya - Nurse Carolyne Mujibi went to work in Kenya's largest hospital after her father died there - from nursing neglect, she thinks. Too much work, too little pay and an assault by a frustrated patient chipped away at her desire to try to make a difference in Kenya.
She is preparing to leave to go work in the United States, hoping for greater job satisfaction and more material rewards, and joining a brain drain from the developing world to the West that experts worry is only making it harder for Africa to pull itself out of poverty.
Mujibi has spent the past four months studying in preparation for a U.S. nursing certification exam. She hopes to take advantage of proposed U.S. immigration laws that would allow more visas for nurses - part of America's latest strategy to deal with a growing shortage of primary health care providers in its hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities. European nations experiencing similar shortages also are destinations for skilled Africans.
Mujibi is among thousands of overworked, unemployed and underemployed nurses and other health professionals leaving East Africa's largest economy.
"Poverty is one thing that is pushing us out. ... I felt if I go out there I could be able to pay for my siblings" to get the best education and realize their ambitions, said Mujibi, who lives in single-room home that has space for only a bed, table, chair, suitcases and a pile of utensils.
"I just want to change life for my family," she said.
"One of the main criticisms about migration ... is sometimes the best and the brightest leave," said Dilip Ratha, a World Bank senior economist and expert on the brain drain phenomenon.
"That has implications on the delivery of critical services, especially in the health sector; it has implication also for the intellectual capital that the country needs for its own development," he said. "If the best and brightest leave, the country's brain is leaving in some ways ... and they can't take advantage of their own potential."
When i saw this also in a nursing blog, I also havent thought out how to respond to this shocking news, and I encourage you also to take a look. Its sad at how quickly the U.S. Nursing Shortage crisis is becoming a worldwide issue. continue
For more info: www.nursingagencystartup.com
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