The Value of IEHPs in the Canadian Healthcare Workforce
Canada has long looked to immigration as our route to economic growth and recovery. To compensate for our aging population and low birth rate, over the next three years, Canada will welcome 1.45 million newcomers, primarily in the skilled immigrant class.[1] In the context of our health human resource crisis, internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) are particularly valued and prioritized for immigration. For the foreseeable future, IEHPs will play a pivotal role in improving Canadians' access to care.
In the wake of the social justice movement during the summer of 2020, most hospitals made a public commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including work to have a workforce that authentically mirrors the communities they serve. Given that 23% of Canadians were born outside the country, the inclusion of IEHPs into our workforce also supports EDI efforts.[2] They enrich the cultural and linguistic diversity of our healthcare workforce through their international education and experiences.
Funded by Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the National Newcomer Navigation Network's (N4) mission promotes equitable access and experiences in health and social services for newcomers. N4 supports the diversity of professionals who assist newcomers by providing a platform and events to connect, learn, and collaborate. Since 2022, in addition to promoting patient health equity, N4 has been addressing the brain waste that persists in our current landscape. In Canada, less than 40% of internationally educated nurses (IENs) and internationally trained physicians (ITPs) are successful in becoming employed in their respective professions.[3] The stories of physicians becoming ride-share drivers or nurses working in daycares are all too common. While the pathways to licensure include significant challenges to IEHPs, healthcare organizations also play a role in their journey to optimal employment.
N4's Employer Toolkit for Recruitment and Retention of IEHPs
Over the past year, N4 undertook a co-design process with health care employers across Canada's geography and healthcare sectors, including acute care, community health, and long-term care. The process included the voices and participation of those with lived experience as IEHPs seeking employment in Canada. As a result of this work, N4 has produced an array of tools to support the recruitment and retention of internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) into Canadian health care organizations including a report, toolkit and checklist.
Tapping Canada's Hidden Healthcare Talent Pool: Tips and Tools to Recruit and Retain International Experience highlights the shared challenges employers can face. It also features promising practices from various provinces on their efforts to create a workplace that is welcoming and fosters a sense of belonging. Not all barriers that impact IEHPs are within the mandate of hospital employers (such as schooling and housing). Therefore, the toolkit also includes a repository of resources for employers to provide to IEHPs including supports to obtain provincial licensure support, and community integration.
The accompanying toolkit provides a convenient repository of resources, strategies and tools that can support the recruitment and retention of IEHPs into health care organizations. Most recently, N4 co-designed a checklist to ensure an organization's infrastructure supports IEHPS at the various steps of their journey; from recruitment, on-boarding, mentorship and retention.
The report, toolkit, and checklist are available in both official languages. They are adaptable and purposely crafted to be of use across health care sectors, size of workplace, and be relevant to both rural and urban locations. N4 encourages you to review and distribute these resources across your organization to those who play a role in assuring equity for your workforce, including human resources, preceptors and mentors, and EDI leads.
About Us
N4 promotes equitable access and experiences of newcomers within the health and social service sectors through a bilingual platform where intersectoral stakeholders can connect, learn, and collaborate. In order to assure all stakeholders can benefit from N4, membership and access to our tools are fully sponsored by our funder and therefore free. Become a member today!
References:
[1] Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Canada launches new process to welcome skilled newcomers with work experience in priority jobs as permanent residents. 2023-06-31. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/05/canada-launches-new-process-to-welcome-skilled-newcomers-with-work-experience-in-priority-jobs-as-permanent-residents.html
[2] Statistics Canada. The Daily. Immigrants make up the largest share of the population in over 150 years and continue to shape who we are as Canadians. 2022-10-26. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026a-eng.htm
[3] Recent Trends in International Migration of Doctors, Nurses and Medical Students, OCED (2019). https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/recent-trends-in-international-migration-of-doctors-nurses-and-medical-students_c8129cbe-en#page9