abstract: It is very humbling to see ourselves as others see us, especially when one has to leave the country to hear the message. It was Paul Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, berating Tony Blair at the opening ceremony of the ICN Quadrennial in Copenhagen recently that got things in perspective. 250 British nurses had made the trip so it was a good time to get the point across. Put simply, the Danish government, like many other governments around the world, are fed up with the UK recruiting nurses abroad instead of sorting out its problems at home.