BACKGROUND: The increasing migration of internationally educated nurses (IENs) from developing to developed countries highlights the importance of implementing integration strategies that facilitate their workplace transition, leading to improved job satisfaction and professional competence.
OBJECTIVE: The mixed-methods systematic review aimed to synthesise the current literature on factors influencing job satisfaction and professional competencies among IENs throughout their transition process, including the pre-migration, migration, and post-migration periods.
METHODS: This study conducted a mixed-methods systematic review from 2013 to 2023, using the CINAHL, Scopus, and PubMed databases and employing a Population, Interventions, Comparisons, Outcomes (PICO) framework. Quality assessment employed the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and data analysis followed a convergent parallel design. Data synthesis was presented narratively, and the literature review adhered to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
RESULTS: Out of 565 articles, eleven studies (eight qualitative, two quantitative, and one mixed-method) met the inclusion criteria. Three key themes that influenced job satisfaction and professional competencies among IENs were identified: pre-migration and pre-deployment demands, challenges in workplace integration, and post-migration career challenges and retention strategies.
CONCLUSIONS: The study primarily focused on IENs recruited from developing countries, potentially limiting the generalisability of the findings to IENs from other regions or countries. Furthermore, the inclusion of nurses from developed countries who also migrated was limited in the available studies, which further restricts the applicability of the research findings.
CONCLUSIONS: It is essential to reconsider the pre-migration language requirements and evaluate the feasibility of completing them during the integration period to enhance the job satisfaction and professional competencies of IENs. Additionally, key factors for improving job satisfaction among IENs include providing personalised support, addressing managerial barriers, facilitating career advancement, efficiently managing workloads, and promoting effective communication within the healthcare team.

Internationally educated nurses (IEN) are a group who reflect Canada’s diverse population as a result of rising immigration trends. There is increasing diversity of the general population in Canada and health service disparities exist. Reducing these disparities among the healthcare workforce and the patients they care for is important to meet language and other cultural needs of patients from different ethnic backgrounds. This article describes a study that examined internationally educated nurses’ transition experiences in the field of nursing with the objective of describing their unique contributions to the patient care experience. A review of the literature provides background information, followed by the study methods, findings, and discussion. Descriptive phenomenology guided this qualitative study that included 11 participants. Findings from this study illustrate how IENs perceive themselves as an asset to nursing and patient care. Implications for the future of nursing education, practice, research, and administration are offered. Healthcare providers that reflect the diversity of Canada’s population and can offer unique cultural perspective have potential to improve the patient experience during a hospital stay.

BACKGROUND: While some trained nurses migrate to destination countries to work as domestic workers, little is known about their migration motivations.
OBJECTIVE: This study explores the motivations of Philippine educated nurses who migrated to Canada through the Live-in Caregiver Program from 2001 to 2011 (a Canadian domestic worker programme).
METHODS: A single case study qualitative methodology and the transnational feminist concept of global care chains were utilized for this study. Interviews of 15 Philippine educated nurses who migrated to Canada as domestic workers were conducted in the province of Ontario, Canada, between February to October 2012. All participants had a baccalaureate degree from the Philippines. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using critical discourse analysis, aided by NVIVO 10 data analysis software.
RESULTS: Findings reveal a multi-step immigration process in which nurses migrate from the Philippines to the Middle East (especially Saudi Arabia) and finally to Canada. While emigration from the Philippines is mainly economically driven, migration from the Middle East to Canada is primarily motivated by the desire for Canadian citizenship for the family. Also, perceived social status and lifestyle in Canada as compared to the Middle East motivates this group of women to migrate to Canada.
CONCLUSIONS: The major limitation of this study is the lack of input from nursing policy makers.
CONCLUSIONS: Gender-based familial ideologies and perspective on social status influence the migration decision of this group of nurses.
CONCLUSIONS: Implications for nursing and health policy makers include the provision of clear pre-migration information (including on the nursing registration process) to internationally educated nurses, advocacy for stronger immigration policies to ensure the integration of internationally educated nurses and a consideration of gender in all health human resource policies.