How Official Language and Country of Origin Impacts Health Workforce Integration in Canada

Main Article Content

Lillie Lum June Vu

Abstract

Skilled immigrants are actively recruited by developed countries in Europe and North America to address health force labour shortages. Although recruitment and selection processes are subject to strict regulations in Canada, internationally educated nurses continue to experience major difficulties with foreign credential recognition and obtaining employment. This study explores the different ways in which English or French, the official language requirements, intersects with immigrants’ ethnocultural background and integration. Key factors such as the timing of migration, age and professional English language competency, and pre-migration experiences were found to have a combined impact on employment success. Nurses with high levels of language proficiency acquired during the pre-immigration period and enhanced following migration had higher levels of economic integration. This study illustrated that current immigration policies would benefit from a closer examination of the match between pre-migration experiences and the required professional skills of the host country.

Article Details

How to Cite
LUM, Lillie; VU, June. How Official Language and Country of Origin Impacts Health Workforce Integration in Canada. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 8, n. 6, june 2020. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2146>. Date accessed: 22 dec. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v8i6.2146.
Section
Research Articles

References

1. Covell C, Neiterman E, Bourgeault I. Scoping Review about the professional integration of internationally educated health professionals. Human Resources for Health 2016;14(38):1-12.
2. Andrisescu M. How policies select immigrants: The role of recognition of foreign qualifications. Migration Letters 2018;15(4):461-475. ISSN: 1741-8984.
3. Allan, HT, Westwood S. English language skills requirements for internationally educated nurses working in the care industry: Barriers to UK registration or institutionalized discrimination? International Journal of Nursing Studies 2016;54:1-4.
4. Adhikari R, Melia KM. The (mis)management of migrant nurses in the UK: A
study. Journal of Nursing Management 2015;23:359–67.
5. Humphries N, Brugha R, McGee H. Nurse Migration and health workforce planning: Ireland as illustrative of international challenges. Health Policy 2012;107:44-53. DOI.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2012.06.007
6. Newton S, Pillay J, Higginbottom G. The migration and transitioning experiences of internationally educated nurses: a global perspective. Journal of Nursing Management 2012;20:534-550.
7. Bhopal R. Glossary of Terms Relating to Ethnicity and Race: For Reflection and Debate. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2004;58:441-445. DOI:10.1136/jech.2003.013466.
8. Painter MA. Educational-Occupational Mismatch, Race/Ethnicity, and Immigrant Wealth Attainment. Journal of International Migration and Integration 2014;15(4):753-776.
9. Sweetman A, Macdonald JT, Hawthorne, L. Occupational Regulation and Foreign Qualification Recognition: An Overview. Canadian Public Policy 2015;41(1):S1-S16. DOI:10.3138/cpp.41.sl.sl.
10. Algan Y, Dustman C, Glitz, A, Manning A. The economic situation of first and second-generation immigrants in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Economic Journal 2010;120(542): F4-F30.
11. Constant A, Zimmerman ZF. Migration and Ethnicity. In F. Zimmerman and A. Constant (Eds.) International Handbook on the Economics of Migration; Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham;2013:13-35.
12. Ewodou J. Location of study and labour market success of immigrants in Canada 2011; Statistics Canada Catalogue number 81-595-M.
13. Bourgeault IL, Atanackovic J, LeBrun J. Brain gain, drain and waste: the experiences of internationally educated health professionals in Canada. 2010: Health Worker Migration, University of Ottawa.
14. Lum L, Dowedoff P, Englander K. Internationally Educated Nurses’ Reflection on Nursing Communication in Canada. International Nursing Review 2016; 63(3):344-351. DOI=10.1111/inr.12300&ArticleID=5826401
15. Lum L, Dowedoff P, Bradley P, Kerekes J, Valeo A. Challenges in oral communication for internationally educated nurses. Journal of Transcultural Nursing 2014; 26(1):83-91. DOI: 10.1177/1043659614524792
16. Moyse S, Lash R, Siantz ML. Migration Experiences of Foreign Educated Nurses: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Transcultural Nursing 2016;27(2):181-188. DOI: 10.1177/1043659615569538.
17. Sedgewick C, Garner M. How appropriate are the English language test requirements for non-UK-trained nurses? A qualitative study of spoken communication in UK hospitals. International Journal of Nursing Studies 2017;71:50–59. DOI.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.03.002.
18. Pung LX, Goh YS. Challenges faced by international nurses when migrating: an integrative literature review. International Nursing Review 2017;64:146–65.
19. Wolcotte K, Llamado S, Mace D. Integration of internationally educated nurses into the U.S. workforce. Journal of Nurses in Professional Development 2013; 5:263-268.
20. Ramji Z, Etowa J. Workplace Integration: Key Considerations for Internationally Educated Nurses and Employers. Administrative Science 2018;8(1):2-12. Doi:10.3390/admsci8010002
21. Girard M, Smith M. Working in a regulated occupation in Canada: an immigrant-native born comparison. Journal of International Migration and Integration 2013;14(2):219-244.
22. Wimmer A. Ethnic boundary making: Institutions, power and networks. Oxford University Press, London: 2017.
23. Polit D, Beck, CT. Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice; Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins: New York; 2017.
24. United Nations Development Programme. (UNDP, 2014) Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resistance. The Human Development Report. http://hdr.undp.org/en/2014-report.pdf.
25. Davda L, Gallagher J, Radford D. Migration motives and integration of international human resources of health in the United Kingdom: Systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies using framework analysis. Human Resources for Health 2018; 16: 1-13. Doi.org/10.1186/sl2960-018-0293-9.
26. Höhne J, Koopmans R. Host-country cultural capital and labour market trajectories of migrants in Germany: the impact of host-country orientation and migrant-specific human and social capital on labour market transitions (Discussion Papers / Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Forschungsschwerpunkt Zivilgesellschaft, Konflikte und Demokratie, Abteilung Migration, Integration, Transnationalisierung, 2010-701); Berlin 2010. Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung gGmbH. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-130484
27. Tossutti L. Literature Review: Integration Outcomes Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Welcoming Community Report 2012; Ontario, Canada.
28. Tran K, Kustec S, Chui T. Becoming Canadian: Intent, process and outcome. Statistics Canada 2016:1-6.
29. Guven C, Islam A. Age at migration, language proficiency, and socioeconomic outcomes: evidence from Australia. Demography 2015; 52 (2):513-542.
30. Neiterman E, Bourgeault I. Cultural Competence of Internationally Educated Nurses: Assessing Problems and Finding Solutions. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research 2013;45 (4):88-107.
31. Crawford T, Candlin S. Investigating the language needs of culturally and linguistically diverse nursing students to assist their completion of the bachelor of nursing programme to become safe and effective practitioners. Education Today 2013;33:796-801.
32. Primeau MD, Champagne F, Lavoie-Tremblay M. Foreign-trained nurses’ experiences and socio professional integration best practices: an integrative review. Health Care Management 2014;33(3): 245-253.
33. Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN™ 2015). http://www.celban.org/
34. Philip S, Woodward-Kron R, Manias E. Overseas qualified nurses’ communication with other nurses and health professionals: An observational study. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2019; DOI: 10.1111/jocn.14942.
35. Battu H, Seaman P, Zenou Y. Job contact networks and the ethnic minorities. Labour Economics 2011;18:48–56.
36. Tselios V, Noback I, Dijk J, McCann P. Integration of immigrants bridging social capital, ethnicity and locality. Journal of Regional Science 2015;559:416-441.
37. Davda L, Gallagher J, Radford D. Migration motives and integration of
international human resources of health in the United Kingdom: systematic review and
meta-synthesis of qualitative studies using framework analysis. Human Resources for Health 2018;16(27):1-13. DOI:org/10.1186/s12960-018-0293-9.
38. Seren AKH, Bacaksiz FD, Yildirim A. The attitudes of Turkish nurses towards the employment of internationally educated nurses. International Nursing Review 2017;65:209–216.
39. Pung LX, Goh YS. Challenges faced by international nurses when migrating: an integrative literature review. International Nursing Review 2017;64:146–65.