Emigration and job security: An analysis of workforce trends for Spanish-trained nurses (2010-2015)

To analyse the relationship between Spanish nurses' intention to migrate and job security.

Nursing emigration from Spain increased dramatically between 2010 and 2013. By 2015, emigration had returned to 2010 levels.

Single embedded case study. We examined publicly available statistics to test for a relationship between job security and applications by Spanish nurses to have credentials recognized for emigration purposes.

Between 2010 and 2015, job security worsened, with poor access to the profession for new graduates, increased rate of professional dropout, increased nursing jobseekers and falling numbers of permanent contracts.

The number of accreditation applications in Spain in 2010 and 2015 was very similar, but job security worsened on a number of fronts. The distribution of work through part-time contracts aided retention.

Policymakers and health care administrators can benefit from understanding the relationship between mobility, workforce planning and the availability of full-time, part-time and short-term contract work in order to design nursing retention programmes and ensure the sustainability of the health care system.