Emigration of Nurses from the Caribbean: the Case of Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

This paper examines the emigration of nurses from the Caribbean SIDS over the last 50 years, focusing on the situation in Trinidad and Tobago. It makes an attempt to assess the scope of the outflow of nurses by drawing on data available in Trinidad and Tobago and in the two main destination countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. The main push factors triggering this mass exodus along with the various counteracting strategies adopted will be presented. To get the complete picture various pull factors in the receiving countries will be analyzed. Since the emigration of the skilled is not a new phenomenon and its implications on the developing countries are becoming increasingly severe, various efforts have been undertaken at the regional, as well as at the global level to address this imbalance in order to find viable solutions for all parties concerned. The economic implications of the emigration of health professionals will be studied using a model currently developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Based on the findings of this analysis, policy recommendations will be formulated for use as a guideline for concerned policy makers at various national and international levels.