Issue of note:

Packages offer salaries of up to £39,000 a year, two months' rent-free accommodation, air fares, visas for all the family, educational opportunities, a green card working visa and the possibility of citizenship.

Half of all US RN's are expected to earn between $38,792 and $44,869. The current exchange rate being around 1.8 pounds to the dollar, £39,000 works out to over $70,000…I myself would have considered going into nursing when leaving high school. I'm wondering, since this crisis has been going on for a while, why hasn't any long term thought gone into solving the problem? I mean, you wave that kind of salary under the nose of your average kid that's planning to go to technical school anyway and you'd be amazed at the focus and dedication they can muster.

The issue, of course, is no one will suggest such a long term focus without confidence they themselves will be the primary, if not sole, beneficiary of the program. Such methods, individual adaptation to prevailing conditions, only address symptoms.

There are problems we can plainly foresee that we cannot respond to for philosophical reasons. And that's kind of sad.

Anyway…

Fears for health service as nurses flock to America
Lorna Martin
Sunday October 31, 2004
The Observer

The number of nurses who left the UK to work in America more than doubled last year, prompting concerns of an impending exodus and a deterioration in patient care.

There are also fears that the NHS, which has become increasingly reliant on the controversial policy of poaching recruits from developing nations to address its critical shortage of nursing staff, may be struggling to retain its foreign recruits as well as its home-grown professionals.

A report published tomorrow will show that a record number of nurses left Britain last year to work abroad, lured by huge pay rises, bonuses and improved living and working conditions.

The Royal College of Nursing, which compiled the figures, said it was particularly alarmed about the increase in staff tempted by America's recently launched aggressive recruitment drive.

In 2002-03, more than 2,200 verification checks on UK-based nurses were requested by American employers, up from just over 1,000 the previous year. In the past year, US recruiters have embarked on a vigorous campaign to lure nurses from Britain across the Atlantic after a US government report said it needed an additional one million nursing staff over the next decade.

The Nursing Times said that American companies were increasing their presence at job fairs in the UK and putting enticing adverts in the professional press. Some recruiters have offered guaranteed jobs to registered nurses who want to move to the States with their families.