Toward a Holistic Framework for the Integration of Internationally Educated Nurses Into the Canadian Nursing Workforce: Insights From Key Partners in Nova Scotia

Recruiting internationally educated nurses (IENs) has been recognized as a policy strategy to address Canada's longstanding nursing shortage. Despite collective efforts, IENs continue to face challenges in integrating into the Nova Scotia workforce. A key gap is the paucity of data on the integration experiences of IENs from both IENs' and systems partners' perspectives in Nova Scotia. Using the socioecological model as a theoretical underpinning, our mixed methods study addresses this gap by identifying key priorities and support strategies to address barriers to IENs' integration into the Nova Scotia health workforce. This article presents the findings of qualitative interviews with Nova Scotia key partners on their perspectives and key priorities for promoting IENs' integration and retention. Lastly, we introduced a framework outlining the components and sub-components of IEN integration and retention, with individual, interpersonal, organizational, and systems levels of intervention at the core.