Internationally Educated Health Professionals
Immigrants make up about a quarter of the health and social assistance sector, yet there are many thousands more whose education, skills, and experience are underutilized. WES collaborates with internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) and partners from a range of sectors to drive policy solutions that can enable fair access to licensure and commensurate employment in the Canadian health care sector.
Towards a Strategy for IEHP Integration
IEHPs in Canada continue to face systemic barriers to registration and professional re-entry. WES is calling for a comprehensive, data-driven health human resource strategy to support the integration of IEHPs in Canada, working with IEHPs and partners across the country to build the base of evidence, recommend policy and programmatic interventions, and strengthen the collaboration necessary to drive long-term, sustainable change.
Internationally Educated Nurses
At a time of critical health workforce challenges, WES is working alongside key stakeholders to advance initiatives that support internationally educated nurses (IENs) who are seeking professional growth and mobility. WES is calling for system-wide changes that enable best practices to be applied, scaled, and harmonized across Canada. This includes promoting registration modernization initiatives, scaling up career laddering and bridging programs, supporting improvements to information access and system navigation, and encouraging a focus on better data collection and linkages. Read our latest report Bolstering Pathways to Practice: Empowering Internationally Educated Nurses in Canada, written jointly with the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
Internationally Trained Physicians
The skills and experience of internationally trained physicians (ITPs) are underutilized at a time of growing demands on primary care. While recent years have seen positive reforms, including an expansion of Practice-Ready Assessment (PRA) positions nationwide, opportunities for ITPs to retain recent clinical experience and access Canadian residency and postgraduate training remain limited. WES continues to engage with partners at provincial and federal levels to call for an expansion of equitable pathways to licensure and commensurate employment.
Featured Resources
WES continues to write and speak about the evolving public policy discussion on the underutilization of IEHPs. Below are a few select pieces.
Bolstering Pathways to Practice: Empowering Internationally Educated Nurses in Canada
Counting on Care: A Survey of Internationally Educated Nurses Not Working as Nurses in Ontario
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