ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the work experiences of Indian immigrant nurses in the United States and explains the challenges they face in becoming incorporated into their new work settings, particularly in urban areas. In the United States, it has been widely established that racial/ethnic differences between providers and patients affects quality of care, access to care, health care service provision and screening. The liberalisation of immigration, specifically in the form of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, was an attempt to respond to such labour shortages in the US economy. The majority of immigrant Indian nurses come from the southern Indian state of Kerala, where the British colonial legacy had initiated the recruitment of young Christian women into the profession of nursing. Quality of care is an important issue for patients in US inner city health care settings that have repercussions vis-vis health disparities in this population.