Are you an international/overseas nurse or midwife working in Australia? Researchers want to hear from you.

Ransford Akrong, a PhD researcher at the University of Huddersfield, is leading a cross-country comparison study exploring international nurses’ and midwives’ experiences of career progression and retention in the UK and Australia. The study is aiming to better understand the opportunities and challenges nurses and midwives working abroad face in their career progression and investigate support mechanism for better advancement and increased retention, contributing to future policy development for the professions.

International nurses migrate from their home countries in search of professional development and career advancement that are not available in their home countries. They also migrate for higher economic gain, a better life for their families, and higher education in countries with shortages of healthcare workers.

However, this is not always the case, as they get to realise that it is not as easy as they imagined. They face several challenges such as discrimination, difficulties communicating, disregard for their previous qualifications, working in roles that are below their qualifications, racism, a lack of support and mentorship, and a struggle to adapt to a new health system.

These challenges contribute to slower career progression and retention. Studies of international nurses’ career progression have focused on comparisons between international and domestic nurses, none have compared international nurses’ experiences of career progression and its impact on retention between two different countries.

The research aims to compare the experiences of international nurses in the UK to their counterparts in Australia in relation to career progression and retention to understand and address these issues.

The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Please click here to participate or on the QR link below

More information: Ransford.akrong@hud.ac.uk