Until a few years ago, it was common to hear of cases of nurses, after training in Spain, heading to the UK to practice, encouraged by better working conditions and ease of finding stable work. But after the Brexit situation … It has changed and now Norway is the most chosen destination. Of the nearly 1,500 nurses who requested a transfer outside our borders last year, 336 of them went to the Nordic country.
But the US was also one of the countries most in demand by professionals, with 226 people heading to the North American country. These are the data from the General Nursing Council (CGE) that were presented on Thursday at a press conference in Madrid. “Working conditions in Spain are not the best at all. “Working conditions, stability and opportunities for professional development have a significant impact on our colleagues’ dissatisfaction and their search for options more suited to their interests,” lamented the head of the CEG, Florentino Pérez Raya.
In this sense, the differences in salaries between Spain and other neighboring countries, such as the Nordic countries, stand out. “In Norway they can earn around 4,000 to 4,500 euros, while in Spain there are centers that pay 1,400 euros,” explained Diego Ayuso, Secretary General of the Commission for Gender Equality. José Luis Cobos, Third Vice President of the Council, stressed that displacement does not only respond to an economic cause. There are also factors that have to do with experience, but salary is still important. He said: “In the Nordic countries the salary is about 4,000 euros, in the United States it is something similar to our salary, and in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands it is about 3,500-4,000 euros.”
They explained that the trend of migration towards the Nordic countries was seen in particular as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the political changes resulting from Britain’s exit from the European Union. But the UK, although it has lost a significant portion of the Spanish nurses who said they worked there, remains the third most chosen option, with 92 professionals leaving for the British country in 2023. It is followed by Ireland (60), the Netherlands (43) and Australia. (41).
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