Canada is expected to face a projected shortage of nurses in the upcoming years due to an aging workforce and a limited supply of new nursing graduates. In order to reduce the shortage of nurses in Canada, internationally educated nurses (IENs) are recruited by the Canadian government. The recruitment of IENs offers a suitable and long-lasting solution to the nursing requirements in Canada and relevantly meets the healthcare delivery goals of the country. The Canadian healthcare system benefits from the IENs but also faces various problems, such as language barriers and fewer jobs for nurses in Canada. Recruitment of IENs also results in ethical issues such as discrimination and client preference.
One of the advantages of IENs is that they help to reduce the workload impact on the Canadian healthcare system. Due to the increase in the aging workforce, Canadian nurses near their retirement age and exit their workplaces leading to a shortage in nurses in certain departments such as the intensive care unit, emergency unit, acute, and sub-acute (Pressley et al., 2022). Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and stroke require more attention and care, thus increasing the amount of work assigned to a nurse. An increase in tasks causes poor work-life balance, high-stress levels, and poor employee performance. IENs are equipped with knowledge and skills that help them to ensure good quality patient care. In addition to reducing the workload, IENs also help to solve an impending healthcare crisis. With an increased population, Canada stands on the verge of an impending healthcare crisis due to the shortage of nurses. For this reason, the need to enable internationally recruited nurses in Canada has become very important.
One of the disadvantages of recruiting IENs is the language barrier. International nurses are only able to communicate with patients who share the same language as them. For example, a nurse who is only fluent in Spanish will not be able to serve a patient who speaks French and English, the official languages of Canada. The lack of good communication skills negatively impacts the quality and safety of care offered to a patient. The lack of fluency in English and French can limit the ability of IENs to communicate, perform nursing skills, and provide safe care (De Moissac & Bowen, 2019). Inability to perform can lead to feelings of incompetency, stress, and frustration. Another disadvantage of recruiting IENs is fewer jobs for Canadian nurses. Although IENs reduce the shortage of nurses in the health care system in Canada, they also increase the lack of job opportunities for Canadian nurses. Recruitment of IENs can also prevent improved working conditions for existing nurses. Employing IENs will only further reduce incentives for existing nurses.
Recruitment of international nurses results in various ethical issues such as discrimination, racism, and customer choice (Walton, 2022). The impact of anti-Black racism affects various sectors in Canada, such as education, healthcare, and nursing. International nurses also suffer discrimination due to unequal opportunities and salaries thus violating their rights (Ricciardelli et al., 2022). Client choice is when a patient can choose a nurse they want to provide them with healthcare, and the money to pay for the service should follow their choice. A patient may refuse to receive treatment from an international nurse due to cultural beliefs, skin color, and language barriers.
In conclusion, recruiting IENs helps to meet the nursing shortages in Canada and enhance the healthcare system. International nurses can also lift the workload on existing nurses, thus improving overall performance. Although the IENs benefit the Canadian health care system, they also impact the healthcare system negatively. The impact occurs when the Canadian government does not acknowledge the working conditions of existing nurses and the reduced job opportunities. Language barrier is also another negative impact of recruiting IENs. International nurses also experience ethical issues such as discrimination and client choice.
References
De Moissac, D., & Bowen, S. (2019). Impact of language barriers on quality of care and patient safety for official language minority Francophones in Canada.Journal of Patient Experience, 6(1), 24-32. Web.
Pressley, C., Newton, D., Garside, J., Simkhada, P., & Simkhada, B. (2022). Global migration and factors that support acculturation and retention of international nurses: a systematic review.International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 100083. Web.
Ricciardelli, R., Johnston, M. S., Bennett, B., Stelnicki, A. M., & Carleton, R. N. (2022). It is difficult to always be an antagonist: Ethical, professional, and moral dilemmas as potentially psychologically traumatic events among nurses in Canada.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1454. Web.
Walton-Roberts, M. (2022). The ethics of recruiting foreign-trained healthcare workers. In Healthcare Management Forum (pp. 248 – 251). SAGE Publications. Web.