Experiences of Internationally-Educated Nurses with Transition Supports in Sault Ste Marie: Recommendations for Success

Description pulled from executive summery. "Through research aimed at Internationally-Educated Nurses (IENs) in Sault Saint Marie, this study seeks to map the available transition supports found in the experiences lived by these professionals during their entry to various healthcare roles (Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses, and Personal Support Workers) in Canada. IENs have been providing much needed health human resources to several countries around the world, including Canada. It is vital for health organizations to invest in effective transition support practices for IENs to facilitate delivery of safe and quality healthcare and retention of IENs in their new roles. The IENs in this study were asked through survey methods to: describe transition supports that were available to them, determine the perceived effectiveness of transition supports, and give comments or suggestions to improve existing transition support programs. For the most part, the survey results corroborate what the literature tells us about the challenges linked to cultural barriers, language and communication barriers, and differences in clinical nursing practice. Additionally, existing transition support practices such as comprehensive orientations and mentoring were highly deemed as important components, with calls from IENs to extend the length and scope of these supports for better transition. The IENs have strong recommendations to develop cultural competency trainings and foster a more inclusive workplace environment. There were also differences in the transition processes in different sectors. IENs who work in long-term care homes reported that the transition support they received were effective and satisfactory. Even given the limitations of the study, due to the small sample size, little information and the scarcity of previous studies in the specific location, the results point to the relevance of findings that IENs need effective transition supports to have successful integration in their new environment. More studies are needed, but it is already possible to say through analysis of the results of the research that an orientation with sufficient length and scope, mentoring provided by supportive mentors, cultural competency trainings to all staff, and promoting teamwork and inclusion in the workplace are essential to achieve effective transition of IENs."