Professional (Im)Mobilities of Nurses Trained Outside the EU: Challenges and Trajectories in France.

In recent times, the discourse surrounding the migration of health professionals has undergone a significant shift, particularly in light of the ongoing global pandemic. This shift has been widely disseminated in the media, particularly in comparison to the discourse that emerged during the 2000s. For example, in the communication materials of institutions such as the WHO and the IOM, there is a notable shift in focus towards elevating the profile of this population, emphasising its significance and indispensable role in managing health crises.

However, in France, nurses from outside the EU remain an invisible professional population, both in the public debate and in the eyes of the institutions. This is due to the fact that the non-recognition of their nursing qualifications, under legislation protecting regulated professions, effectively precludes any possibility of working in the healthcare system without a French state nursing diploma. Furthermore, while there is a pathway for those seeking to obtain a French nursing qualification, namely by undertaking further studies at a French training institute, this is constrained by the limited availability of places for nurses trained outside the EU.

The research is based on a series of interviews with these nurses. The objective was to gain insight into their biographical, migratory and professional backgrounds. These encounters with people from disparate countries and socioeconomic backgrounds, all of whom are excluded by law from the French healthcare system, prompted us to examine the relationship between objective and subjective downgrading. The period of deskilling that results from the non-recognition of the diploma obtained in the country of origin is an unavoidable stage in the migratory journey of these nurses to France. The length of this period varies considerably, but it is characterised by uncertainty, psychological suffering, adjustments to the migration project and a temporary or permanent change of career.