| mentoring programs for new foreign trained nurses,
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| Thursday
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When Arlyn Chow moved to Canada from the Philippines seven years ago, her dream was to work as a nurse, as she had for four years back home.
No one told her she would need an 18-month program at Mohawk College, which required her to take out a loan and work part time.
"It would have been helpful if I'd known ahead of time," said Chow.
Still, she is one of the lucky ones. She is working in her chosen field as a surgical nurse at St. Joseph's Healthcare and using her skills.
Many foreign-trained nurses have been unable to upgrade their credentials and are working at lower paid jobs, such as personal support workers.
A study by McMaster University's Nursing Health Services Research Unit shows there is a "brain waste" of immigrant nurses in Canada.
The study, co-authored by Dr. Andrea Baumann, associate vice-president, faculty of health sciences, international health, and Jennifer Blythe, associate professor, school of nursing, has shown that although Canada faces a serious nursing shortage, not enough is being done to recruit and retrain internationally educated nurses or IENs.
While there are good programs in Ontario, including Hamilton's Care For Nurses, there aren't enough to help all the internationally educated nurses who need it, Baumann said.
"If we don't do more, we're going to be in big trouble," added Baumann.
She said more information could be provided to international nurses during the immigration process so people like Chow wouldn't be taken by surprise.
There is also a need for supports around cultural diversity and mentoring programs for new foreign trained nurses, said Baumann.
Some provinces, including Saskatchewan, have been aggressively recruiting nurses from abroad for years, said Baumann.
Hamilton was chosen as a demonstration site for the development of recruitment strategies for internationally trained nurses.
Those strategies may serve as provincial and national role models for communities across Canada.
Iveta Dianovska wished she'd received more information before coming to Canada.
A trained nurse, Dianovska moved to Canada from Europe six years ago and is working as a registered practical nurse, but at a much lower salary because she can't afford to upgrade her education.
Provide more foreign nurse visas
US to increase work visas to ease strains of nursing shortage |
posted by blogger @ 06:52
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