Dataset Information

Internationally educated nurses' and medical graduates' experiences of getting a license and practicing in Sweden - a qualitative interview study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Swedish healthcare system has an increased need for nurses and physicians, and the number of International Educated Nurses (IENs) and International Medical Graduates (IMGs) seeking job opportunities and a license to practice in Sweden is rising. This study explored how IENs and IMGs describe their experience of getting a license to practice, their perceptions of working in Sweden and of how their intercultural competence is utilized.

Method

A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 11 IENs and 11 IMGs. The interviews were conducted between 2015 and 2017. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

Three main themes were identified: 'Getting a license - a different story,' 'The work is familiar, yet a lot is new,' 'Trying to master a new language.' The time to obtain a license to practice and finding a job was shorter for IENs and IMGs coming from European countries than for those from non-European countries. Some of the experiences of getting a license to practice and of entering a new workplace in another country were the same for nurses and physicians. In general, both IENs and IMGs felt welcomed and used their intercultural competence at work. Lack of language skills was regarded as the main problem for both professions, while workplace introduction was shorter for IMGs than for IENs.

Conclusions

Problems related to language and culture are often underestimated, therefore organizations and managers employing IENs and IMGs should provide longer workplace introduction to facilitate the acculturation process. More time-efficient language courses specifically adapted to IENs and IMGs could make the transition easier and shorten the time to obtain a license to practice for both professions.

SUBMITTER: Eriksson E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6282362 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Internationally educated nurses' and medical graduates' experiences of getting a license and practicing in Sweden - a qualitative interview study.

Eriksson Elisabet E Berg Sören S Engström Maria M

BMC medical education 20181205 1

<h4>Background</h4>The Swedish healthcare system has an increased need for nurses and physicians, and the number of International Educated Nurses (IENs) and International Medical Graduates (IMGs) seeking job opportunities and a license to practice in Sweden is rising. This study explored how IENs and IMGs describe their experience of getting a license to practice, their perceptions of working in Sweden and of how their intercultural competence is utilized.<h4>Method</h4>A qualitative study based ...[more]

PMID: 30518350

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Approximately 13% of the total Australian midwifery workforce is internationally qualified. Although the internationally qualified midwives (IQMs) play a significant role in the Australian midwifery system, there is limited understanding of their transitional experiences. OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study protocol is to explore the transitional experiences and views of IQMs practicing in Australia, through the investigation of demographic profiles and key challenges that influence a smooth transition. METHODS:This paper presents an explanatory sequential mixed methods study protocol. This protocol incorporates an e-survey and individual interviews. The e-survey in the first phase will be distributed to IQMs in Australia via the website e-bulletins of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Australian College of Midwives. Additionally, potential respondents will be recruited via social media (ie, Twitter and Facebook) and associated snowball sampling. Data from the e-survey will be statistically analyzed. At the end of the e-survey, respondents will be asked whether they are willing to take part in an interview. The results of the e-survey and relevant literature review will help to develop a guideline for interview questions for the second phase. In phase two, a purposeful sample of participants will be recruited using the same selection criteria as for the e-survey. Semistructured interviews will provide a deeper insight into the transitional experiences of IQMs. Data from the interviews will then be thematically analyzed. RESULTS:An integration of the e-survey results (phase one) and interview findings (phase two) will be synthesized to explore and better understand the transitional experiences of this group of midwives. It is anticipated that data collection and analysis will be completed by June 2019 and results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications in late 2019. CONCLUSIONS:This research protocol may generate new knowledge about the transition of IQMs in Australia. These findings could be used to formulate recommendations to inform the transition of future IQMs in Australia. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):DERR1-10.2196/13406.

Project description:BackgroundCountries all over the world are experiencing a shortage of registered nurses (RNs). Therefore, some countries, including Sweden, have tried to solve this by recruiting internationally educated nurses (IENs). Countries offer bridging programs as educational support to qualify IENs for nursing work in the destination country. However, there is little research on IENs' experiences of bridging programs in European countries and how these programs facilitate their integration into the world of work and their new society. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of nurses, originally educated outside the EU (European Union)/EES, of the Swedish bridging program and of the program's role in facilitating their integration into the nursing profession in Sweden.MethodsA qualitative descriptive design was used to explore the topic based on 11 informants' perspectives and experiences. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants at one university in Sweden. Data were collected by individual interviews using a semi- structured interview guide during the year 2019 and were analysed using an interpretative thematic approach.ResultsTwo main themes emerged from the analysis: 1) Return to nursing, and 2) The bridging program as a tool for transition to nursing in Sweden. The first theme includes conditions and experiences such as personal motivation and determination, and support from others that the participants described as important in order to achieve the goal of re-establishing themselves as registered nurses in Sweden. Furthermore, the second theme describes the participants' experiences of the bridging program as mostly positive because it led to new learning and achievements that were valuable for the transition to nursing in Sweden; however, the participants also emphasised the challenges of their transition into the nursing profession, which were related to instances of misrecognition of their professional competence and the uncertain outcome of the program.ConclusionsThis study found that the bridging program facilitated integration into the nursing profession for nurses educated outside the EU/EES, especially knowledge gained in clinical-based training. Thus, it is important to recognise and value the IENs' experience and previous knowledge and training when developing the bridging program's curriculum.

Project description:BackgroundPre-COVID-19 research highlighted the nursing profession worldwide as being at high risk from symptoms of burnout, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide. The World Health Organization declared a pandemic on 11th March 2020 due to the sustained risk of further global spread of COVID-19. The high healthcare burden associated with COVID-19 has increased nurses' trauma and workload, thereby exacerbating pressure on an already strained workforce and causing additional psychological distress for staff.ObjectivesThe Impact of COVID-19 on Nurses (ICON) interview study examined the impacts of the pandemic on frontline nursing staff's psychosocial and emotional wellbeing.DesignLongitudinal qualitative interview study.SettingsNurses who had completed time 1 and 2 of the ICON survey were sampled to include a range of UK work settings including acute, primary and community care and care homes. Interviewees were purposively sampled for maximum variation to cover a broad range of personal and professional factors, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, including redeployment.MethodsNurses participated in qualitative in-depth narrative interviews after the first wave of COVID-19 in July 2020 (n = 27) and again at the beginning of the second wave in December 2020 (n = 25) via video and audio platform software. Rigorous qualitative narrative analysis was undertaken both cross-sectionally (within wave) and longitudinally (cross wave) to explore issues of consistency and change.ResultsThe terms moral distress, compassion fatigue, burnout and PTSD describe the emotional states reported by the majority of interviewees leading many to consider leaving the profession. Causes of this identified included care delivery challenges; insufficient staff and training; PPE challenges and frustrations. Four themes were identified: (1) 'Deathscapes' and impoverished care (2) Systemic challenges and self-preservation (3) Emotional exhaustion and (4) (Un)helpful support.ConclusionsNurses have been deeply affected by what they have experienced and report being forever altered with the impacts of COVID-19 persisting and deeply felt. There is an urgent need to tackle stigma to create a psychologically safe working environment and for a national COVID-19 nursing workforce recovery strategy to help restore nurse's well-being and demonstrate a valuing of the nursing workforce and therefore support retention.

Dataset Information

Internationally educated nurses' and medical graduates' experiences of getting a license and practicing in Sweden - a qualitative interview study.

Background

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Internationally educated nurses' and medical graduates' experiences of getting a license and practicing in Sweden - a qualitative interview study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets