Three studies were released today about the swiss healthcare system with a focus on the foreign workforces. The studies show how the proportion of foreigners in the healthcare system went from 33% to 36% between 2002 and 2008. The effect is emphasized by the decreasing number of swiss who embrace a job in the healthcare sector.
What I found highly interesting is the "domino effect": Switzerland by recruiting in neighbouring coutries, creates a lack of personel in these countries forcing them to recruit in developing countries (africa, eastern europe, middle east, asia, south america). This has a dramatic consequence for developing countries because the need for this personel is even more stringent. The World health Organization is establishing a code of conduct to prevent rich countries from looting valuable human resources in poor countries.
Links (german, french) to the studies.

Otherwise known as preventing qualified and ambitious people from making a decent living elsewhere, perhaps sending money back to their families, maybe even returning to their home countries later to start schemes to help their erstwhile neighbours?

Keep 'em down, keep 'em poor. That's the way to do it...

These countries are also in urgent need for doctors and nurses. Having someone sending money but no doctor to handle the people is pretty useless. That's the problem.
The doctors who decide to migrate to Europe do it not because they have a bad life in their country. They do it because they'll have access to more means for their work and to progress. It's also for a better life quality for sure.

you think ?
Then what's the matter with Canada ? It's not a poor country but I was amazed to see (a few years back) the quantity of very qualified nurses from Quebec in the hospitals here.

The problem is simply that the swiss education system is designed to produce a lot of craftsmen and office clerks (KV), but too few academics, so people with better education have to be imported.

But my Swiss cousin is a nurse in Montreal. When I spent 6 months in a Swiss hospital in 1970/71, most of the nurses were French and British.

It's true that the swiss system is very selective, but on the other hand it does not produce hundred of thousands of young unemployed people with a bachelor or masters in literature or psychology (like in france). The very low rate of unemployment is a good indicator of the system's efficiency in producing people with skills as required by the market. The big drawback of the swiss system is the conservative nature of the culture which prevents women from taking qualified employments position. It's very visible in the healthcare sector where many swiss refuse to enter in this sector due to the stressing and heavy workload associated with it.

And it's not going to change any soon. Many foreign nurses come and work in switzerland because swiss men & women refuse this type of work.

This is happening everywhere in the developed world where there is a shortage in the medical profession and dentists. i.e. Australia and New Zealand also. And the problem has been known for a long time.

It also has a flow on effect. Currently Ukrainian med professionals are heading to the Czech Republic, as the Czechs are heading to Germany etc.