Monday, 31 October 2011
Yolanda B. Babenko-Mould, RN, BScN, MScN, PhD
Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Janice Elliott, RN, BScN, MScN
School of Nursing, Fanshawe College, London, ON, Canada
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to gain insights into the experiences of internationally educated nursing students in acute care clinical practice.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to compare and contrast study findings to their experiences, and consider ways of enhancing integration for international nurses in practice.
As a result of migration and international recruitment, internationally educated nurses (IEN) are playing an important role in addressing the needs of the health care system and the nursing shortage. In 2005, IENs made up 34.1% of the new Registered Nurse (RN) members in Ontario and more recently, in 2008, IENs made up 8.9% of the new RNs in Ontario (CNO, 2009). Many IENs face challenges as they strive to integrate into clinical settings. Overcoming language barriers and cultural differences have been identified as factors affecting the IENs integration to the workplace These cultural differences may include different role expectations of the nurse and marginalization (Xu, 2007). These challenges can result in decreased retention of IENs in the workplace (Zizzo & Xu, 2009). The Bridging for Internationally Educated Nurses (BIEN) program at Fanshawe College prepares IEN students to enter the workforce through courses and clinical experiences. Successful transition from the BIEN program to the workforce is imperative. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of BIEN students’ integration experiences in acute care settings. A qualitative design was used to frame the study from a phenomenological perspective. BIEN students participated in audio-recorded interviews. The transcribed data was used to conduct a thematic analysis. Themes and an interpretation of their meaning will be presented at the convention. This salient information will be related to implications for nursing education and practice.
College of Nurses of Ontario (2009). Trends in general class new members 2008. Toronto, Ontario: Author.
Xu, Y. (2007). Strangers in strange lands. A meta-synthesis of lived experiences of immigrant Asian nurses working in Western countries. Advances in Nursing Science, 9(3), 246-265.
Zizzo, K. A., & Xu, Y. (2009). Post hire transitional programs for international nurses: A systematic review. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 40(2), 57-64.
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