Migration and mobility: informing nursing health human resources retention and recruitment policy.

Introduction People need to move to where the work is. This has always been a normal part of job-searching strategies for individuals. We witnessed this pattern throughout the 20th century, especially towards the end. However, when large numbers of an occupational group have had to move because of economic issues, this normal pattern changes. Interest in the movement of healthcare professionals became acute in the latter part of the previous century because of emerging shortages in many health professions. As a result, employers, regulators and governments have been working together to address the issues underlying these patterns.