Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Several factors have led to a noticeable decline in registered nurses: a heavy workload, exhaustion, burnout, and lack of career advancement have exacerbated since COVID-19. Over 75% of frontline nurses report burnout. The World Health Organization's call for 6 million more nurses, requiring Canada to invest in internationally educated nurses (IENs) to meet the growing demand. Experiences of racism and sex discrimination are contributing to burnout among men and racialized IENs. IENs are leaving due to a lack of intentional mentorship that empowers and supports them. IENS must be supported and retained. Despite evidence that formal mentorship can support the retention of nurses, no mentorship and retention framework exists that addresses the current realities of IENs. Such a framework is urgently needed and our proposed planning and dissemination project will be a critical first step. A nurse retention framework must be co-created and embedded within the principles of EDI and an SBGA+ analysis to support the mentoring and retention of racialized IENs who are critical in the sustainability of Canada's healthcare system. Our goal is not to increase the recruitment of nurses from abroad but to retain IENs who have voluntarily made Canada their home, recognizing their human right to migrate. We will focus on Ontario and will first synthesize relevant academic and grey literature about EDI-informed retention/mentorship models and programs via a rapid literature review and program scan, share findings among nurses and stakeholders at a forum in Ontario, and plan for an application for future funding to develop an Integrated Nurse Retention Framework among stakeholders identified at the forum. Aligned with the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, an Integrated Nurse Retention Framework will improve the health and quality of life of IENs, improve Canada's healthcare service, and advance capacity building through mentorship programs that promote EDI principles