Strategies employed by developed countries to facilitate the transition of internationally qualified nurses specialty skills into clinical practice: An integrative review

Nursing Open · 4 authors, 3 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

This integrative review of 10 papers found that developed countries lack clear, consistent strategies or pathways for transitioning the specialty skills of internationally qualified nurses into clinical practice after immigration.

Full summary

1,293 CHARS

This integrative review synthesized findings from 3 qualitative studies and 7 reports published between 2006 and 2021, capturing data from 188 participants. The study aimed to identify common strategies used by developed countries to transition specialist internationally qualified nurses into practice. The analysis revealed a lack of consistent definitions for nurse specialty roles, with criteria varying between post-registration experience and post-graduate qualifications. A major finding was the absence of clear pathways for skill transferability, with no identified successful support programs. Barriers include inconsistent credentialing frameworks, inflexible certification processes, and a lack of recognition for international qualifications. The review highlights that the current literature provides only generic advice and fails to address how specialty skills acquired overseas are recognized or utilized after immigration. Limitations include the restriction to English-language publications and the scarcity of available evidence, which itself underscores the research gap. The implications point to an urgent need for greater research and the development of national frameworks to safely integrate these specialist skills, particularly relevant during global health crises.

STUDY TYPE

systematic_review

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10643820

Strategies employed by developed countries to facilitate the transition of internationally qualified nurses specialty skills into clinical practice: An integrative review

Nursing Open

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Abstract Background Recruitment of internationally qualified nurses as a labour source is a long‐standing human resource strategy being implemented to address the current and increasing global nursing shortage. Internationally qualified nurses transitioning into the health workforce of developed countries following immigration often possess specialty skills. A lack of a clear pathway of specialty skill utilisation makes recognising and using these specialty skills complex for many nurses. The ability for nurses to transition between countries and maintain specialty practice demands immediate attention in the current atmosphere of the global pandemic and the predictions to recruit more specialist nurses from overseas. Aim To identify and synthesise strategies taken by various developed countries in transitioning specialist internationally qualified nurses into practice. Methods An integrative review was conducted to identify common themes, patterns, and best practices in order to inform policy development and improve the successful integration of internationally qualified nurses into the healthcare systems of developed countries. The study employed the Whittemore and Knafl five‐stage integrative review approach. To conduct a comprehensive search, four electronic databases, namely Medline, CINAHL Complete, ProQuest Health, and EMBASE, were systematically searched in October 2021. The search was updated in March 2022 to ensure the inclusion of the most recent literature. Additionally, Google Scholar was utilised to avoid overlooking any important articles. Prior to the full‐text review, three reviewers independently evaluated titles and abstracts. The included papers' quality was determined using the JBI critical appraisal tools. Results This study included 10 papers, comprising three studies and seven reports. However, none of these documents provided information on how internationally qualified nurses could transfer their specialty skills acquired overseas to developed countries after immigrating. The guidelines and policies reviewed only offered generic advice on becoming a specialist nurse. Although some countries mentioned that post‐graduate qualifications were not mandatory for nurse specialists, the majority of documents in this review emphasised the need for a national framework of education at level eight or higher (equivalent to a post‐graduate level) to attain the status of a nurse specialist. Moreover, the included documents did not provide clear information on whether an international specialisation degree would be recognised during the registration process. As a result, confusion persists regarding the requirement of post‐graduate qualifications for nurses aiming to specialise and the recognition of international specialisation degrees during the registration process. Discussion The lack of consistency in defining nurse specialty and the skill transferability among institutions and state borders were evident in this review. According to all the 10 documents analysed, developed countries appear to have minimum policies on the transfer of internationally qualified nurse's specialty skills. Recommendations for policymakers, employers, and aspirant migrants have been proposed. Limited research has been done on how developed countries used their internationally qualified nurses' overseas‐acquired specialist skills after immigration, indicating a lack of a distinct specialist skill transition pathway. Conclusions This review presents data to support the need for greater research in this area to better utilise the abilities that internationally qualified nurses bring from their home country and put them to constructive use in the host country, especially in the context of a global pandemic.

CITATION EXPORT

Chanchal Kurup, Vasiliki Betihavas, Adam Burston et al.. Strategies employed by developed countries to facilitate the transition of internationally qualified nurses specialty skills into clinical practice: An integrative review. Nursing Open. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.2023

AUTHORS

4 · 3 CENTRES

Chanchal Kurup, Vasiliki Betihavas, Adam Burston, Elisabeth Jacob

1 Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine Australian Catholic University Virginia Queensland Australia
2 Central Queensland University Australia North Rockhampton Queensland Australia
3 Nursing Research and Practice Development Centre The Prince Charles Hospital Chermside Queensland Australia