From India to the U.S.: What Determines Nurse Migration Flow?

India has become the second largest supplier of foreign-educated nurses in the U.S. The annual inflow of India-educated nurses has been increasing till 2008. The trend, however, reversed ever since the peak year. Three major events – the 2008 financial crisis, changes in the format of the NCLEX exam for registered nurses, and the adoption of WHO Code of Practice – are analyzed to understand the turning point in 2008 and the recent trend of nurse migration. Unemployment rate, health sector expenditure, exam pass rate and the behavior of recruitment agencies will be discussed to examine the impact of the three events on the push and pull factors driving international migration of nurses. The study found that the financial crisis and changes made to NCLEX exams reduced migration flow by weakening the pull factors while the impact of the adoption of WHO Code of Practice is not clear