Nursing in Crisis: How Immigration Policies Affect Healthcare

Immigration policies affect healthcare systems in several ways. A nursing shortage has been a major issue for years, and it is only getting worse. Many states and hospitals are experiencing severe nursing shortages. Immigrants comprise a great portion of the nursing workforce and play an important role in our economy and culture.

The healthcare industry has attempted to address the nursing shortage by recruiting foreign-born nurses. Still, the current immigration system has made it difficult for these individuals to remain in the United States long enough to apply their skills within our healthcare system.

Without an immigration fix, hospitals will be unable to hire enough nurses. This is how immigration policies are harming our healthcare system and patient care. Nurses from other countries cannot obtain permanent residency easily after working in this country for several years. This article explores how immigration policies affect healthcare in the country.

What’s In The Article?

• Crisis In The American Healthcare System

• The Nursing Profession In The Healthcare Field

• Immigrants In The Nursing Workforce

• Impacts Of The Immigration Policies In The Nursing Workforce

• Final Thoughts

Crisis In The American Healthcare System

The healthcare system in the United States is in crisis. Nurses, doctors, hospital beds, specialists, and primary care providers are in short supply. There is also a severe shortage of mental health professionals who can help people suffering from addiction or depression.

More people need to enter these fields for our country's medical institutions to succeed in providing quality care to everyone. However, many aspiring new nurses and doctors face the following obstacles to pursuing their dream careers: 

• Policies that discriminate against immigrants based on their place of birth or country of origin

• Restrictive legislation that governs which schools can teach medicine

• The high costs of obtaining accreditation from state boards

• Hospitals pay low wages (often less than what someone born in the country would be paid)

Nursing shortages are a global issue, not just in the United States. They can be a major concern for hospitals that need to fill positions quickly and easily, and it can also be difficult for nurses who want to advance or change jobs and don't have any available options.

The Nursing Profession In The Healthcare Field

Nursing is an important part of healthcare, and filling these positions in our country is becoming increasingly difficult. The nursing shortage is a significant issue, especially as the population ages and more people seek medical care. Nurses play an important role in patient care. They also have a greater responsibility to ensure that hospitals run smoothly and efficiently--a task that becomes even more difficult during times of high demand.

The high rate of burnout among nurses makes this career path less appealing than it could be. However, there are numerous advantages to choosing this profession, including the following: 

• Nurses earn good benefits. 

• They have flexible working hours.

• Nurses have job security and advancement opportunities.

• They can frequently choose where their career path will take them (locally, nationally, or internationally).

• There are many available jobs, so competing with other applicants is unnecessary. 

Nurses help patients and their families deal with illness by providing emotional support, information about their condition, and assistance with daily tasks such as bathing and cooking meals.

As a result of the shortage, many nurses have left the field or taken positions at other facilities where they can earn more money while still providing essential services. Because immigrants account for roughly 15% of all registered nurses in the United States, deportation policies will exacerbate the problem by driving more qualified health professionals out of nursing.

Immigrants In The Nursing Workforce

According to the Bureau Of Labor And Statistics (BLS), the registered nurse workforce is expected to grow to 3.3 million jobs by 2031. If immigration policies are not changed, they will significantly contribute to the crisis, as immigrants make up a large portion of the nursing workforce.

Immigrants are also more likely to work in underserved areas, such as rural places, where healthcare professionals have few other options. This is also another way how nursing shortage impacts rural healthcare systems. If we continue down this path, immigrants will face difficulties entering the country or becoming citizens because of the limited visa slots available each year under current laws.

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), immigrants comprise 17.9% of the healthcare workforce in the United States. It still falls short of meeting demand as baby boomers age and requires more care, and fewer Americans pursue careers in healthcare administration fields such as nursing. Since colonial times, foreign-born workers have been an important part of our economy and culture: 

• Foreign-born workers promote innovation by fostering entrepreneurship.

• They make significant contributions to diversity by bringing diverse perspectives with them.

• Immigrants connect communities by bridging language barriers.

Impacts Of The Immigration Policies In The Nursing Workforce

Immigration policies affect healthcare as immigrants find it difficult to work in the United States under the current system. It also makes it more difficult for immigrants already in the country to stay and even harder for them to work in healthcare fields such as nursing.

Current immigration policies affect healthcare systems, particularly the nursing workforce. The number of nurses unable to work in the US is increasing yearly. Hospitals and health systems across the country are having trouble finding qualified nurses to fill their open positions and retaining and recruiting new ones. The H-1B visa program allows highly skilled workers, including nurses, to enter the United States to perform jobs that require specialized knowledge and skills. With only 85,000 visas given yearly, it's extremely competitive, and Congress hasn't increased this number since 2000. 

To qualify for the H-1B visa, nurses should meet eligibility requirements. Among these are the required education, passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), and a job offer from an employer in the US.

Final Thoughts

We must take action to attract nurses and ensure Americans have access to quality healthcare. Immigration policies should not discourage people from coming to work or study here but rather encourage them by making it easier to find a job once they arrive.

As our country debates immigration policy, nursing will continue to face a labor shortage and an aging population that requires more care. Nursing is one of our country's most important professions, and people need more nurses than ever. However, rather than being able to fill these positions, many hospitals face shortages due to discrimination against immigrants and refugees who wish to work legally in the United States through programs such as H-1B visas.