How competence improves CALD nurses’ integration into the working environment?

The key to smooth integration relies on more than just linguistical competence alone.

The main reasons for recruiting culturally and linguistically nurses concern the increasing need for nursing staff in many OECD countries. Competence is one factor that affects culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) nurses’ integration into the working environment in their country of immigration. 

 

The research suggests that continuous education focusing on local language, ethics, medical care, clinical practice, and knowledge of the local health care system, along with and information on how to obtain a local licence, could improve CALD nurses’ integration into the working environment. 

 

Researchers interviewed 24 nurses from 11 different countries during May – July 2021. The participants were either registered nurses in the country of immigration or in their native country while they were in the process of immigration. The participants were selected through snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted. 

The semi-structured interviews included themes collected from previous evidence. more specifically, the final themes were: 1) finding work and integration into working environments; 2) transferring competence to meet professional competence requirements; 3) the competences and support CALD nurses need for smooth integration; 4) and acculturation experiences of CALD nurses in Finnish healthcare settings.

 

”What kinds of experiences do CALD nurses have of transferring their competence to meet the professional competence requirements of healthcare settings?” was the question that was examined by Terhi-Maija Isakov et al. from University of Oulu in Finland. 

 

Through an inductive content analysis of the data, the researchers determined five main categories that emerged from the CALD nurses’ descriptions of their experiences: 1) before immigration; 2) competence requirements in the country of immigration; 3) assessment of competencies; 4) support factors; and 5) hardships.

 

Based on the participants’ experiences, researchers point that challenges in linguistic competence are a major impediment to CALD nurses’ smooth integration into the working environment. Also, participants mentioned differences in care culture, patient guidance, medical care and technology skills, between their native country and the country of immigration. When discussing the local medical calculations test, the participants stated that they were given insufficient time to finish, as they were not familiar enough with the vocabulary. The CALD nurses also expressed a desire for further education in ethics, clinical practice, and knowledge of the local health care system.

 

Moreover, participants shared that insufficient language skills affected in the deskilling of their professional competences. CALD nurses shared experiences of discrimination and abusive treatment in the working environment. These hardships affected CALD nurses’ well-being. Participants stated that they were not aware of the official structures or strategies that were meant to support competence development in the working environment, and they shared that they had limited knowledge of who possessed relevant authority, and that applying for a national license could last several years. The CALD nurses working as nurse assistants were also hesitant to apply their nursing competence at work that may even detrimentally affect patient safety.

 

Based on the presented results, CALD nurses’ integration into the working environment could be facilitated by developing clear strategies for CALD nurses’ degree recognition, improving leniency at work, taking into account language difficulties when administering tests, and helping foreign colleagues develop their language skills. However, further research is needed, as quantitative data can provide additional evidence about the connection between CALD nurses’ native language, competence and support for developing their linguistic skills. Further studies should also focus on patient guidance and ethics from the cultural point of view, and the process of degree recognition for CALD nurses who finished their education outside of EU/ETA countries.