THE INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY OF NURSES - A UNITED-KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines available information on the flows of qualified nu rses to and from the United Kingdom, and reports on the results of a q uestionnaire survey of U.K.-based nurses who had worked abroad. The da ta examined reveals an upward trend in both ''inflow'' and ''outflow'' of nurses in the period 1984-91, with indications of a net outflow. T he survey results indicated that Australia was the most common destina tion; most nurses working abroad had moved to the English-speaking cou ntries of North America and Australasia. Barriers and incentives to in ternational mobility of nurses are discussed, and likely future trends in mobility are examined.