Experiences, Barriers, and Factors Influencing Career Advancement Among Internationally Educated Nurses in Home Care

The home care sector suffers from workforce inefficiencies with many of its healthcare providers not working to their full potential. This includes internationally educated nurses (IENs) who have obtained their education in a foreign country but are not certified in Canada. In addition to their professional expertise, IENs have multilingual and multicultural skills and perspectives, which position them to provide culturally competent care. Despite investments to improve hiring and integration practices, we still do not know about the effectiveness of career advancement initiatives for IENs in home care. IENs from disadvantaged groups face significant barriers to meaningful employment and are disproportionately affected. As part of an evaluation study of a career development program at VHA, this project aims to explore the experiences and challenges of IENs with career advancement and certification in Canada. This will inform homecare organizations to tailor programs to support career advancement and certification of IENs and leverage an underutilized human resource in healthcare.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lianne Patricia Jeffs

Student:

Partner:

VHA Home Healthcare

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Toronto

Program: