There is an urgent and ongoing need to critically examine why people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and genders do not become nurses, and why so many of our colleagues choose to leave their nursing roles.

Now may also be a good time to reflect on the richness of experiences and the learning opportunities that arise through working alongside nurses from across the world.

Figures show that, of almost 732,000 staff on the nursing register, more than 30,000 come from the European Economic Area (EEA) and almost 92,000 from outside the EEA. The countries providing the largest numbers of nurses are the Phillippines and India.

All of these nurses bring with them a diverse range of experiences of life and nursing from which we can all learn and improve our practice.

By learning from our international colleagues we can develop new approaches to clinical practice and nursing care, and find new ways to be more inclusive.

As the feature article suggests, this richness also needs to be reflected by the presence of many more international colleagues in senior nursing teams and senior positions.

We can promote the beauty of diversity in nursing by appointing more international nurses to managerial positions. This will not only put the profession in a stronger position, but also make it a more attractive career option to homegrown nurses.