Nurse rebellions against health care cutbacks are spreading around the world, not just in the United States. Within the past few months, there have been massive strikes in many countries from Canada to Australia. Tens of thousands of Polish nurses went on a hunger strike to protest cutbacks in health care and low pay. Closer to home, 47,000 nurses in Quebec staged a long strike over low pay. The nurses maintained essential medical services throughout the strike. News reports indicate they won overwhelming public support. The struggle was still continuing when Healthwire went to press.

Saskatchewan and Alberta nurses struck earlier this year.

FNHP program and policy council chair Candice Owley says health care around the globe is suffering both from budget cuts and from a growing shortage of nurses, according to reports reaching a world nurses' conference in London that she and vice chair Ann Twomey attended in June.