Immigrant Nurses and Allied Professionals Seeking to Validate Their Qualification in Finland

ABSTRACT Health care professional's qualifications earned in one country may not be recognised in another country and will require validation. The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of immigrant healthcare professionals seeking the recognition of their education credentials in Finland. Altogether 11 professionals applying to a programme to validate their qualification were interviewed using semi‐structured interviews. Data was analysed by using inductive thematic analysis. The study was able to identify four factors promoting healthcare professionals' participation in validation education: (1) readiness for the Finnish employment market; (2) support from relatives and acquaintances; (3) the significance of language used to deliver validation education; and (4) the importance of the cost‐free nature of the program. The challenges were described by five main themes: (1) access to and commencement of validation education; (2) foreign language‐related challenges; (3) access to information about the education; (4) decisions about leaving the home country; and (5) discrimination and racism. Based on this study, seven recommendations are provided for education policy and practice to facilitate access to and commencement of validation education.