This study throws light on the expectations of nursing students trained in Tamil Nadu. What are their job-preferences, where would they like to work, and what motivates them to enter the nursing profession as a career?  

Key findings

• Irrespective of the type of training institution, nursing students would like to take up a public sector job.
• Female nurses show less preference to migrate outside Tamil Nadu state.
• Male nurses and those with a preference for a higher salary prefer to migrate outside Tamil Nadu and the country.

Policy questions

Given the high preference for Government jobs; low absorption of nurses in public and private health facilities (despite acute shortage) and the high migration outside the country, the relevant policy questions are:

• How should government respond to, regulate, encourage and guide the rapid growth in nurse training institutions in Tamil Nadu?
• What specific policy initiatives are necessary to enhance employment opportunities for nurses?
• To what extent are training institutions (public and private) over-producing for the current absorptive capacity of the labour market? Does this lead to unemployment or migration?