Korean J Occup Health Nurs.  2011 Aug;20(2):185-194.

Ageing Experiences of Nurses with Overseas Employment: Focusing on the Korean Nurses Dispatched to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s

• Kim HS
• Hong SW
• Choi KS
• Lee AJ

Abstract

PURPOSE
Global shortages in nursing and strong demand for nursing services provided Korean nurses with more overseas employment opportunities, especially in the developed countries such as the United States and Canada. The purpose of this study was to explore the ageing experiences of the Korean nurses dispatched to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s.
METHODS
The researcher interviewed 10 Korean nurses living in four cities in Germany. Interviews were performed twice in January and July, 2010, and the data, in the form of field notes and interview transcripts, were analyzed using the Agar's (1980) ethnographic method.
RESULTS
The ageing experiences of the participants can be summarized into three theme stages: coming upon old age, reluctantly realizing getting old, and finally accepting being old. The first stage is characterized by 'wiring money to homeland all throughout youth,' second 'still feeling like a stranger anywhere,' and finally 'burying homeland in heart.'
CONCLUSION
The research findings not only suggest crucial materials for training prospective nurses overseas for their successful settlement, but also shed lights on related problems and solutions with ageing experience in overseas employment.

Keyword

Nurses; Overseas employment; Ageing; Ethnography

MeSH Terms

Anthropology, Cultural
Canada
Developed Countries
Employment
Germany
Light
Nursing Services
United States