Italy Suffers Nursing Shortage

I was checking around for NURSING NEWS and I found this interesting story off of NursingReview.org. This may apply to those of you who are looking for an oversea job that is not in North America.

MANILA, Philippines—Italy suffers from a shortage of nurses and may soon start getting foreign nurses, including Filipinos, former Philippine Ambassador to Italy Philippe Lhuillier said.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters Wednesday, the country’s ambassador to Italy from 1999 to January 2010, said: “They really need nurses. There are hospitals, at least five of them near our embassy, that have closed shop because of the shortage in nurses.”

“Italians love Filipinos because they are clean, and they work well,” he added.

Lhuillier said Italy has eased its policy on hiring foreign workers. Previously, it required foreign nurses to attend 4,500 hours in Italian colleges and be fluent in speaking the native language.