Introduction: Building Global Alliances V: The Challenges of Migration For Health Professional Women.

The following four articles are based on presentations delivered at Building Global Alliances V: The Challenges of Migration for Health Professional Women, held in Philadelphia on December 7-8, 2008 and hosted by CGFNS International (formerly the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools).

An integrative review of global nursing workforce issues.

Migration has been a way of life since the beginning of time, with migrants seeking other lands for personal and professional betterment. Today, in an era of globalization, trade agreements and technological advances, an increase in migration is inevitable. All professions have been affected, but the migration of health professionals, particularly nurses, has been the most dramatic.

Introduction: Building Global Alliances IV: Global Health Challenges in a World Divided by Health Inequities.

The five papers following this introduction are based on presentations delivered at Building Global Alliances IV, Global Health Challenges in a World Divided by Health Inequities , sponsored by CGFNS International on December 3-4, 2007, in Philadelphia. Building Global Alliances IV provided opportunities to generate greater understanding of the local, national, and global ramifications of health inequities; the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the effect of migration on the distribution of health professionals (particularly the issues posted by international nurse migration); and the impact of these issues on health care delivery systems.

An overview of papers presented at Building Global Alliances III: The Impact of Global Nurse Migration on Health Services Delivery.

Global nurse migration has become a major phenomenon, impacting health service delivery in both developed and developing countries. The phenomenon has created a global labor market for health professionals and fueled international recruitment. International migration and recruitment are viewed as solutions to staffing shortages for some countries and as exacerbating problems for others.