By Shawn Kennedy, AJN interim editor-in-chief

A significant number of foreign-educated nurses (FENs) come to the United States each year to work; although the exact number is unknown, consider that in 2009 alone, more than 14,000 FENs passed the NCLEX exam for licensure to practice here. Many come because they’ve been actively recruited by firms acting as agents for hospitals and nursing homes; others come on their own. Some are recruited from developing countries that, because of severe internal nursing shortages, can ill afford to send qualified nurses abroad. And some FENs learn that what they expected—or were led to expect—doesn’t match what they actually find when they arrive.

In the June issue of AJN, you’ll find a comprehensive study examining the international nurse recruitment business, an industry that’s gone through rapid growth in the last decade. Supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Patricia M. Pittman and colleagues conducted interviews with industry executives and focus groups with FENs. […]