According to the latest census figures, a large number of foreign-trained nurses are leaving their native countries to find work in the United States. The foreign-trained nurses constituted nearly 8.8 percent of all new registered nurses in the United States in 1990.

Newswire.com reports that the number had jumped to 15.2 percent in 2000. Also, 21 percent of percent of foreign-trained registered nurses belong to low-income countries as Africa; almost triple the rate since 1990.

The report, published in the American Journal of Public Health, says "The prospect for higher wages overseas attracts talented local workers to the field of nursing, which may increase local and worldwide nursing supply," the study's authors said.

Cautioning the nurses from leaving their home countries to work elsewhere, the study added, "The implications of policy changes should be carefully considered to avoid unintended consequences."