University Competency-based Courses for Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) in Ontario: A Pilot Education Pathway to Registered Nurse (RN) Licensure

In 2014, a team of nurse educators and champions of internationally educated nurses (IENs) in Ontario, Canada, came together to address the issue of supporting IEN transition to practice as one route to help address nursing shortages. Courses were developed with funding from the Government of Ontario, and policy and coordination support from the Council of Ontario Universities, to pilot an educational bridging pathway for IENs. The faculty team across four Ontario universities used a consortium approach to coalesce province-wide expertise in IEN education. What began as a selection of targeted, competency-based courses has since evolved into a full Competency-Bridging Program of Study for Internationally Educated Nurses in Ontario, aligned with other IEN bridging program offerings across the province. This paper describes the initial process of the group, from 2015 to 2018, to create foundational learning and competency-based courses to meet targeted entry-to-practice (ETP) competencies for Registered Nurse (RN) registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). The barriers to IENs in meeting ETP requirements and how the gap in the existing Ontario IEN bridging to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) education to meet regulatory requirements are also addressed. This article explores how Ontario may respond to the increasing nursing shortages and the need to engage ethically and retain IENs in practice. Lessons learned from competency-course development add to the growing body of knowledge about IEN program experiences in Canada to enable more IENs to enter the Ontario nursing workforce. Résumé En 2014, une équipe d’infirmières et infirmiers enseignants en Ontario, au Canada, et défenseurs des infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international, s’est réunie pour aborder la question du soutien à la transition des infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international vers la pratique, comme une voie pour aider à remédier aux pénuries d’effectifs infirmiers. Des cours ont été élaborés grâce au financement du gouvernement de l’Ontario et au soutien en matière de politique et de coordination du Conseil des universités de l’Ontario, afin de piloter un cheminement éducatif de transition pour les infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international. L’équipe du corps professoral de quatre universités ontariennes a utilisé une approche de consortium pour regrouper l’expertise provinciale en formation des infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international. Ce qui a commencé comme une sélection de cours ciblés fondés sur les compétences a depuis évolué pour devenir un programme d’études complet de transition pour le développement des compétences attendues en Ontario, aligné sur d’autres programmes de transition offerts dans la province pour les infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international. Cet article décrit le processus initial du groupe, de 2015 à 2018, pour créer des cours d’apprentissage essentiel fondés sur les compétences permettant de développer les compétences ciblées pour l’accès à la pratique infirmière par l’inscription au tableau de l’Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers de l’Ontario. Les obstacles qui les empêchent de satisfaire aux exigences de compétences pour accéder à la pratique et la façon dont étaient comblés les écarts existants pour les infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international vers un baccalauréat en sciences infirmières en Ontario sont également abordés. Cet article explore comment l’Ontario peut répondre aux pénuries croissantes d’effectifs infirmiers et à la nécessité de s’engager de manière éthique et de retenir des infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international dans la pratique. Les leçons tirées de l’élaboration des cours fondés sur les compétences s’ajoutent à l’ensemble croissant de connaissances sur les expériences des programmes au Canada pour les infirmières et infirmiers formés à l’international afin de permettre à davantage d’entre elles et eux d’intégrer les effectifs infirmiers de l’Ontario

Patient engagement in Canada: a scoping review of the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of patient engagement in health research

Abstract Background Over the last 10 years, patient engagement in health research has emerged as the next evolution in healthcare research. However, limited evidence about the clear role and scope of patient engagement in health research and a lack of evidence about its impact have influenced the uptake, implementation and ongoing evolution of patient engagement. The present study aims to conduct a scoping review to identify methods for and outcomes of patient engagement in health research. Methods An adaptation of the scoping review methodology originally described by Arksey and O’Malley and updated by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien was applied. Sources from a formal database search and relevant documents from a grey literature search were compiled into data extraction tables. Articles were synthesised into key themes according to the (1) methods and (2) outcomes of patient engagement in health research. Results The total yield for the scoping review was 55 records from across Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. While evidence about the methods used to engage patients in health research is increasing, stronger evidence of specific patient and healthcare system outcomes is required. This necessitates further mobilisation of research that explores outcomes and that validates specific tools to evaluate engagement. Additionally, theoretical frameworks that can better inform and sustain patient engagement across the lifecycle of health research are lacking. Conclusion Further increasing the volume and reach of evidence about patient engagement in health research will support the paradigmatic shift needed to normalise the patient’s role in research beyond ‘subject’ or ‘participant’, so as to ultimately improve patient health outcomes and better address healthcare reform in Canada

Patient and public involvement cultures and the perceived impact in the vulnerable context of palliative care: A qualitative study

Background Cultural values are crucial to the practice and impact of patient and public involvement (PPI) in research.Objective To understand different PPI cultures among research teams and the impacts of PPI associated with each culture type.Design A participatory action research design.Setting and participants The setting was 10 palliative care research projects. Seventeen patients and members of the public and 31 researchers participated.Intervention A programme consisting of four components: (1) training and coaching of patients and the public to prepare them for participation in research, (2) tailored coaching of the 10 research teams over 12-18 months, (3) a community of practice, and (4) a qualitative evaluation.Results We identified three cultures types: relationship cultures, task cultures, and control cultures. We identified four areas of impact: the project aim became more relevant to the target audience, methodological reliability increased, the research products were better able to reach the public, and the awareness increased, associated with behavioural changes, among researchers regarding PPI.Discussion A relationship culture appears to be long-lasting due to impacting the behaviours of the researchers during future projects. Different cultural types require different types of patients and researcher participants, assigned to different tasks.Conclusions Further research remains necessary to investigate the support required by researchers to enable relationship- and task-oriented PPI cultures.Patient or public contribution Patient advocates and representatives contributed to our research team throughout the entire research process, as well as within the 10 implementation projects

Correction to: Patient engagement in Canada: a scoping review of the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of patient engagement in health research

Abstract It has been highlighted that the original manuscript [1] contains a typesetting error in the surname of Virginia Vandall-Walker. This was incorrectly captured as Virgnia Vandall-Walker in the original manuscript which has since been updated