Commentary
Salam Bani Hani1 and Abdulqadir J Nashwan2
1Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Irbid National University, Irbid, Amman, Jordan (Correspondence to Salam Bani Hani:
Citation: Hani SB and Nashwan AJ. Ethical recruitment and migration of nurses is needed in Jordan. East Mediterr Health J. 2024;30(6):402–403.
https://doi.org/10.26719/2024.30.6.402. Received: 10/10/23; Accepted: 06/02/24
Copyright: © Authors 2024; Licensee: World Health Organization. EMHJ is an open access journal. All papers published in EMHJ are available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).
Strong relationships are supposed to exist between competence, responsibility and high-quality healthcare among nursing staff (1). In recent years, there has been an increase in the demand for quality healthcare, as the number of nurses continue to decrease due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and retirements (2). The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has acknowledged the potential cultural and educational opportunities resulting from the migration of nurses as well as their ethical and legal rights to travel (3). However, authorities across the countries have been unable to develop ethical protocols that will tackle certain violations in the nursing profession, particularly overseas recruitment by the developed countries (4).
The shortage of nurses in Jordan's underserved areas has been a result of several factors, including the violation of nurse recruitment practices, lack of financial incentives, inaccessibility and poor transportation in these areas, unfavorable working conditions, the dearth of health education institutions in these areas, and internal and external migration (6).
Ethical recruitment is defined as a hiring process that is free of intimidation, misleading information or exploitation (5). Sometimes the methods used for recruiting or hiring nurses deviate from accepted ethical norms, including, but not limited to, false representation of job opportunities, discrimination, lack of transparency, and breach of confidentiality (7). Governments, employers and nurses need the support of ethics stakeholders in developing sound employment policies and ethical decision-making processes to ensure equitable as well as economically and professionally viable nurse recruitment and retention practices.
The migration of healthcare workers between developing and developed countries has drawn a lot of attention mainly due to its economic and social impact. While migrant healthcare workers from developing countries are contributing to the healthcare sector of developed countries, the migration of professionals and skilled workers from developing countries is perceived to negatively affect the development potentials of the countries of origin. We need ethical recruitment policies that are fair, transparent and promote integrity in the hiring process (8). Ethical recruitment policies will ensure that organizations attract, evaluate and select candidates based on merit and without discrimination or exploitation. Policy interventions that assist governments in developing controlled models of foreign recruiting that benefit both parties are needed (9).
It is possible to ensure protection of the fundamental human rights while resolving the difficulties related to the migration of healthcare professional if we develop and implement recruitment rules that offer a balanced approach. Both the Jordanian Clinical Council and the International Clinical Council should establish moral and legal standards that will guide human resource management regarding the hiring of nurses. It is believed that health professionals are autonomous actors in the migration process and have a fundamental right to freedom of movement and gainful employment. However, respecting the freedom of nurses to pick the nation in which they want to work is another thing. We must encourage high-quality relationships that can help meet the objectives of the healthcare delivery system. During the hiring of nurses, decision-makers need to follow professional guidelines and processes that protect the rights of nurses and consider high ethical standards. Hiring practices should uphold moral standards and make provision for retention plans.
References
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7. Stokes F, Iskander R. Human rights and bioethical considerations of global nurse migration. J Bioeth Inq. 2021;18(3):429-439. doi: 10.1007/s11673-021-10110-6.
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