​In a recent episode of the PRIO Peace in a pod, Marta Bivand Erdal and Lubomiła Korzeniewska share insight from their research with nurse migrants in Norway. They also reflect on how the experience of the pandemic sheds new light on their previous analysis of deskilling in the context of nurse migration.

In a journal article published earlier this year they unpack deskilling, drawing on the case of Filipino and Polish nurse migration to Norway. Nurse migration from these countries is critically shaped by two different regimes of immigration and authorization. Here, Polish nurses as EU citizens can easily access the Norwegian labour market, quickly gaining full authorization as nurses based on their Polish qualifications, Filipino nurses find themselves working hard to overcome first the immigration regime facing third country nationals entering the EU/EEA area, and subsequently struggling with the often less than clear requirements of the Norwegian nurse qualifications authorization system. 

Unpacking what deskilling means to nurse migrants themselves, despite the radically different institutional framings of their experiences, is important. While experiences do follow structural regimes, there are also similarities that cut across. Therefore, there is a need to understand better how the individuals who are subjected to these systems think and act – recognising their agency and resilience in doing so.