MIGRATION TRANSITIONS OF MEXICAN NURSES IN GERMANY

Abstract

Objective: To examine the migration transitions of Mexican nursing professionals residing in Germany. Materials and Methods: A focused ethnography guided by the Theory of Transitions was conducted between the months of November 2020 and May 2021; snowball sampling was used, where the participants of the social network Facebook, who agreed to participate, referred to other people. Eleven Mexican nurses living in Germany were recruited; interviews were conducted using the Zoom platform and audio-recorded with prior consent. The information obtained was transcribed verbatim and examined through thematic analysis using the QUIRKOS software. Results: 63.6% of the nurses were women, with an average age of 30.8 years; and an average time of 1.26 years living in Germany. Migration transitions were classified into 10 categories: 1) Economic and labor conditions, 2) Language, 3) Study accreditation process, 4) Costs, 5) Discrimination, 6) Customs and traditions, 7) Gastronomy, 8) Climate, 9) Recreation, and 10) Safety. Conclusions: Understanding the migration transitions of Mexican nurses in Germany allows us to make a series of recommendations for practice, public policies, and future research and intervention projects.