Cultural competence of internationally educated nurses: assessing problems and finding solutions
Abstract
Competency to practise nursing is typically assessed by professional regulators who examine educational standards, credentials, and experience. But bureaucratic fit based on verification of documents and determination of clinical competence does not always coincide with cultural fit and ability to fulfil the role of health professional according to a country's standards. The authors examine the challenges that lack of cultural fit can pose to the integration of internationally educated nurses (IENs) transitioning to a new health-care system. Semi-structured interviews with 71 IENs and 70 key stakeholders in Canada revealed that the cultural fitness of immigrant nurses presents a unique set of challenges for regulatory bodies, immigrant nurses, and employers. Bridging programs for IENs to upgrade their skills were found to be a means of preparing IENs to practise in the Canadian cultural context.
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Despite significant changes to registration processes from 2007 to 2018, there is little reported change in the experiences of IENs during this period.
“For example, despite significant changes to registration processes from 2007 to 2018, there is little reported change in the experiences of IENs during this period [119–122,125,127,129,156,158,181,186,187,207].”
From Nursing regulation in Canada: Insights from a scoping review (2025) · cites this paper as [125]
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- Authors
- Neiterman, E., & Bourgeault, I. L.
- Venue
- Canadian Journal of Nursing Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-12
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 88-107
- ISSN
- 0844-5621 (ISSN-L)
- 1705-7051
- OpenAlex
- W2463799939
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 3.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Canadian Journal of Nursing Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Cultural Competency in Health Care
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Global Health Workforce Issues
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Issues, ethics and legal aspects › Nursing Education, Practice, and Leadership
- Keywords
- internationally educated nurses, cultural competence, cultural fit, immigrant nurses, nursing regulation, credential recognition, bridging programs, skill upgrading, nurse integration, Canadian health care system
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Canada, Education, Nursing, Female, Health Policy, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Transcultural Nursing, Qualitative Research, Cultural Competency, Nurses, International
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