Decolonial and intersectional approach to address ethical tension in international nursing education: experience from the field

In recent years, increasing numbers of international nurses come to the UK for a ‘top up’ degrees in nursing, which provide them an opportunity to enhance their qualifications and access new career paths. This has been a popular trend in many rich countries, such as Australia and USA (McKitterick, et al. 2021). However, this trend raises broader ethical concerns regarding global healthcare inequalities, exploitative international recruitment practices (in higher education and in the labour market), and the challenges these nurses face as students upon arriving in the host country, within the context of workforce shortages, increased international opportunities for nurses and a funding crisis in higher education (HE) sector.

While top-up degree programmes for international nurses provide valuable opportunities for career advancement, they also contribute to a system that disproportionately benefits high-income countries at the expense of low and middle-income countries. This tension—between individual benefits and broader structural harms—has become a central focus of our reflections. In this editorial, we highlight our approach to delivering the BSc Nursing (International) programme, detailing the initial strategies we have implemented to support our international nurses in their studies and future careers.