Scenario: Anika is a workforce planner at a Regional Health Authority.  With rising demand for nursing professionals and a growing pool of internationally trained talent, she has been tasked with understanding how International Educated Health Professionals (IEHPs), especially Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs), can be better integrated into the local workforce.

Challenge: There are many efforts to integrate IEHPs across the country, but the information is scattered. Strategies, bridging programs, and current workforce data are fragmented across different organizations. Anika needs workforce data, trusted evidence and program examples in one place to design effective, evidence-based strategies.

How does the Digital Front Door help?

Anika prompts the tool:

• I want IEHP statistics for Canada.
• Where can I find visualizations of the health workforce capacity gaps for IEHPs?
• What supports exist for IENs to start practicing in Canada?
• What are the challenges faced by IENs to practice in the health system?
• How do challenges in practice vary by rurality among IENs?
• Are there programs in place that support the integration of IENs into the current health workforce?
• How can academics, employers, regulators, and government officials collaborate on improving the integration of IENs into the Canadian health system?

What did Anika learn?

1. Anika accessed comprehensive reports and resources on IEHPs and IENs. These provided valuable insight into the significant contributions made by IENs, the barriers impeding their practice, and key workforce gaps within the healthcare sector.
2. Through the Digital Front Door, Anika was directed to the interactive Health Workforce Canada’s dashboards, where she explored visualizations that helped her gain clearer insights into Canada’s overall health workforce.
3. Anika obtained detailed information on specialized competency upgrade courses, targeted mentorship programs, practice experience initiatives, and financial assistance streams available to IENs.
4. Anika gained valuable perspectives on collaborative opportunities among interdisciplinary partners, emphasizing strategies that facilitate a seamless transition for IENs from immigration to employment.

What can Anika do next?

1. Engage with local programs and support available to IENs to gain a comprehensive understanding of their services, costs, and relevant metrics regarding the number of IENs utilizing these resources.
2. Monitor the Health Workforce Canada dashboard modules to keep track of new additions that provide IEHPs data and visualizations.
3. Assess initiatives that address integration challenges and support their professional practice.
4. Collaborate with key stakeholders to identify gaps and strengthen integration pathways for IENs by mapping existing supports and expanding access to credential recognition, supervised practice, and mentorship, with a particular focus on underserved areas.
5. Prepare recommendations for leadership with evidence-based strategies and potential pilot initiatives to improve IEN integration.