OH health officials 'go global' to help resolve nursing shortage

By Terri Dee

The nursing shortage in Ohio and nationwide remains unchanged. A 2025 Ohio Nurses Association Position on Safe Nursing report said the cycle of understaffed hospitals leaves remaining workers overwhelmed, which leads to burnout, job dissatisfaction, followed by high turnover.

One organization is seeking qualified nurses outside of U.S. borders to fill the gap.

Laura Messineo, chief nursing officer for the employment firm WorldWide Health Staffing Solutions, who has worked in the profession for 34 years, said many nurses with decades of experience are leaving the field and there are not enough nursing schools in the United States to train their replacements.

"There have also been many new roles that have been developed outside of the traditional brick and mortar hospital settings that are drawing nurses out of the acute care setting, and more so into the spa realm," Messineo explained.

Messineo believes current nursing school graduates lack the critical thinking skills seasoned nurses possess. Minimum staffing standards in hospitals is another reason nurses are exiting the profession. The report indicates approximately 90% of nurses reported legally enforceable minimum staffing standards would increase their likelihood of remaining in a direct care role.

Messineo pointed out most health care systems are tapping into international talent as a long-term strategy to adequately staff their hospitals. Nurses desiring work in the U.S. can upload their resume. The information is reviewed to determine the applicant’s clinical specialty. Then an assessment is done to validate their understanding of the specialty, followed by an interview with a hiring manager.

She stressed the nurse must meet the requirements for the position.

"The nurses that we're recruiting and bringing over to the United States are nurses that have passed the US standard of an NCLEX exam," Messineo emphasized. "They also passed an English language exam of reading, writing and comprehension and they are BSN graduates."

Messineo added nurses are recruited from 17 countries. The top three are the Philippines, Canada and the United Kingdom. They have, on average, nine to 15 years of experience and work in every clinical specialty area in a hospital setting.