International Nurses: Transitional Toolkit

National Health Service England has a rich history of recruiting nurses from international labour markets (Nichols and Campbell, 2010), with nearly one in five nurses currently working in NHS Trusts recruited from overseas (Palmer et al., 2021). The Long Term Workforce Plan indicates that we will continue with current levels of ethical international recruitment in the coming years before reducing its reliance in the medium term over time. The NHS has many attributes that attract international nurses including career advancement, superior pay, prospects on offer in the United Kingdom (UK) and opportunities for continuing professional development (Palmer et al., 2021).

The contribution that our overseas colleagues make to the health and care sector should be celebrated and each individual recognised for the wide range of cultures and expertise that they bring to the UK. However, international recruitment is complex, with international nurses facing different opportunities and challenges in the process of joining and integrating into the nursing workforce depending on their experience and recruitment approach (Nichols and Campbell, 2010; Davda et al., 2018; Bond et al., 2020; Pressley et al., 2022). International nurses are recruited from across the globe from many different countries, all with their unique healthcare systems and rich cultural backgrounds. As numbers of
international nurses rise, it is imperative to understand the broad range of factors that impact the retention of this increasingly crucial workforce including their backgrounds and previous experiences.

The team at the University of Huddersfield embarked on a portfolio of research aiming to understand factors influencing recruitment and retention of international nurses