HEALTH AFFAIRS NOTES THE NEED FOR FOREIGN TRAINED HEALTHCARE WORKERS
The November issue of Health Affairs includes a ReformProposal co-authored by to researchers at the RAND Corporation, a post-doctoralfellow at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and two faculty membersat the Yale School of Heath.
The extensively researchedarticle explains the substantial size of foreign-born healthcare workers in theUnited States. The Abstract to thearticle explains that the authors:
Review the distribution of these workers and their countries oforigin, and we summarize the literature concerning their contributions to UShealth care. We also report on these workers’ experiences in the United States and theimpact their migration has on their home countries.
Finally, we present policy strategies to increase the benefitsof health care worker migration to the United States while mitigating itsnegative effects on the workers’ home countries.
The author’s strategies include:
attracting more people with legal permanent residency statusinto the health workforce, reimbursing home countries for the cost of educatinghealth workers who subsequently migrate to the United States, improvingpolicies to facilitate the entry of direct care workers into the country,advancing efforts to promote and monitor ethical migration and recruitment practices,and encouraging the implementation of programs by US employers to improve theexperience of immigrating health workers.
The article is a must-read for those who are serious about attendingto US health care worker supply shortages.
