The nurses union Pasynm on Monday called for the recruitment and training of domestic nursing staff instead of recruiting third-country nationals.

The move would maintain and strengthen a high quality of care provision in the country, Pasynm said.

The statement came in the context of a European nurses’ federation (EFN) event to promote the profession’s issues and challenges within the EU commission and the parliament in Warsaw last week.

Investment in the education and training of [domestic] nurses through continuous development and lifelong learning, as well as through recognition of their professional status was discussed.

“Instead of investing in the resilience and training of their domestic nursing workforce, many EU member states prefer to look for an easy, shortsighted way out of the problem, by recruiting nurses born and trained in third countries as a quick fix for the European shortage of nurses,” Pasynm said.