Occupational (im)mobility in the global care economy: the case of foreign-trained nurses in the Canadian context

Abstract

The Twenty-first century has witnessed a number of significant demographic and political shifts that have resulted in a care crisis. Addressing the deficit of care provision has led many nations to actively recruit migrant care labour, often under temporary forms of migration. The emergence of this phenomenon has resulted in a rich field of analysis using the lens of care, including the idea of the Global Care Chain. Revisions to this conceptualization have pushed for its extension beyond domestic workers in the home to include skilled workers in other institutional settings, particularly nurses in hospital and long term care settings. Reviewing relevant literature on migrant nurses, this article explores the labour market experiences of internationally educated nurses in Canada. The article reviews research on the barriers facing migrant nurses as they transfer their credentials to the Canadian context. Analysis of this literature suggests that internationally trained nurses' experience a form of occupational (im)mobility, a paradoxical, ambiguous and contingent processes that exploits global mobility, but results in the stratified incorporation of skilled migrant women into healthcare workplaces.

Clocking out: Nurses refusing to work in a time of pandemic

“…This emphasis on migration trajectories aligns with recent research on how aspiring migrant nurses navigate different barriers in moving towards their desired destinations. Much of this work involves fulfilling the requirements of an international skills regime that assesses migrant nurses’ capacity to practice their profession abroad ( Collins, 2021 ; Walton-Roberts, 2020 ). In large source countries like the Philippines, scholars have noted the sharp rise in demand for nursing degrees in response to aggressive recruitment efforts within popular destination countries like the US ( Cabanda, 2017 ; Author, 2018a).…”

“…In this paper, we use the terms “clocking in” and “clocking out” to describe how aspiring nurse migrants treat such local service as a designated time of work – much like punching a timecard through a Bundy clock. The actual time spent working within local hospitals tends to vary widely among aspiring migrants, given that destination countries have different requirements for foreign nurses ( Walton-Roberts, 2020 ; Gillin and Smith, 2020 ). Yet, aspiring nurse migrants still consider early clinical exposure essential to building their confidence and security as professional nurses (Authors, 2021).…”

Assessing the contribution of immigrants to Canada’s nursing and health care support occupations: a multi-scalar analysis

“…Immigrant integration and success in the workforce is constrained by several factors, including language and communication issues, workplace integration issues, inequality in opportunities, credentialing difficulties, and differences in occupational practices between the origin and destination countries [ 3 , 20 ]. These factors can contribute to immigrant health worker deskilling and stratification into roles below their training level [ 13 , 25 , 33 ]. Previous studies also reveal the underutilization of immigrant workers in Canada’s health care sector, with 47 and 33 percent underutilization reported for foreign-educated immigrants and Canadian educated immigrants, respectively [ 17 ].…”

Interjecting the geographies of skills into international skilled migration research: Political economy and ethics for a renewed research agenda

“…However, scholarship has also pointed to the vagaries of the definition of skill in skilled migration, pointing to how skills are social constructed and highlighting the who, what and how of skills as they play out in migration (Liu‐Farrer et al, 2020). Research has focused on the different actors and policies associated with migration (Boucher, 2020), the variable content of skills (Kofman & Raghuram, 2013) and the processes through which skills are acquired, assigned and eroded before, during and after migration (Nowicka, 2014; Walton‐Roberts, 2020).…”