SummaryA number of models have been developed to explain nurses' turnover behavior. The common theme that emerges from these models is that turnover behavior is a multistage process that includes attitudinal, decisional, and behavioral components. The purpose of this study was to assess both the direct and indirect impact of certain pay policies upon the turnover intentions of paediatric nurses. The two major questions addressed were: What was the relative impact of job satisfaction, pay satisfaction, and organizational commitment upon the turnover intentions of paediatric nurses eligible for these pay policies? What model accurately portrays the relationship among these three independent variables and turnover intentions? Exploration of the causal pathways among these variables and demographic factors revealed complex models of association. The results suggest that job satisfaction has only an indirect in¯uence on the intention to quit, whereas organizational commitment has the strongest and most direct impact. A further ®nding that pay satisfaction had both direct and indirect eects on turnover intent was consistent with administrators' assumptions underlying the pay policies. Control variables such as having a degree, having children, and working 12-hour shifts were found to have both direct and indirect in¯uences upon pay satisfaction and turnover intent.

Achieving English language proficiency, while key to successful adaptation to a new country for internationally educated nurses (IENs), has presented more difficulties for them and for educators than previously recognized. Professional communication within a culturally diverse client population and maintaining collaborative relationships between nurses and other team members were perceived as new challenges for IENs. Learning an additional language is a long-term, multistage process that must also incorporate social and cultural aspects of the local society and the profession. This article provides a descriptive review of current research literature pertaining to English language challenges, with a focus on oral language, experienced by IENs. Educational strategies for teaching technical language skills as well as the socio-pragmatics of professional communication within nursing programs are emphasized. Bridging education programs must not only develop students'academic language proficiency but also their ability to enter the workforce with the kind of communication skills that are increasingly highlighted by employers as essential attributes. The results of this review are intended to facilitate a clearer understanding of the English language and communication challenges experienced by IENs and identify the implications for designing effective educational programs.

Clear communication from regulators about English language and nursing communication requirements during the pre-arrival period is recommended. If bridging education is required, these programs need to be designed to address English language competency and nursing communication skills of non-native English speakers.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore issues that must be addressed in post‐secondary educational planning and delivery such that social cultural factors within the learning environment are recognized in ways that affirm the learner's cultural traditions.Design/methodology/approachThe adoption of a multiple cultures model of instructional design with an emphasis on implementing flexible learning using instructional technology is proposed.FindingsThe paper finds that as student mobility continues to increase across educational programs and geographic borders, the need to accommodate cultural differences in an increasingly heterogeneous study will have to increase dramatically and, for this to occur, institutions and faculty will have to improve their insight into cultural and learning differences that affect teaching and learning.Practical implicationsDistance education courses are commonly offered in professional upgrading or “bridging” programs as one solution to addressing the apparent knowledge and experience gaps of newly immigrated internationally‐educated practitioners. Useful strategies for accommodating individual styles and preferences in a multiple cultures professional online learning context have been described.Originality/valueLearning preferences and styles are inextricably related to cultural background as well as curricular and course design. This paper provides a much‐needed professional distance education framework that integrates the skills and values of the student with those of the local professional community to create a unified and authentic learning environment.

Purpose -Bridging education programs have been developed to enhance the ability of internationally educated professionals (IEPs) to access professional employment in Canada. IEPs are professionals who received their original training outside of Canada. Bridging education programs consist of specialized courses, offered by higher education institutions, focusing on skill and knowledge upgrading in preparation for meeting professional licensure requirements. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the preferred learning styles of IEPs enrolled in nursing, pharmacy and teacher programs. Design/methodology -This survey research assessed the learning styles/preferences and degree of self-directed readiness of IEPs enrolled in three different Ontario bridging education programs: pharmacists, nurses and teachers. These professions represent some of the largest regulated professions in Canada. Three professions were selected for this study because they have similar regulatory procedures for candidates seeking licensure. These programs were situated within higher education institutions. Adult immigrant students participated by completing Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and Guglielmino's Self-Directedness Scale. Findings -The most significant finding of this research is that all three professions were found in the divergent quadrant of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. The learner with a divergent style of learning prefers observation rather than action and is able to view concrete situations from multiple perspectives. These learners value concrete experience and reflective observation, suggesting that they tend to consider a situation from differing perspectives. This finding suggests that being a recent adult immigrant has a stronger effect upon preferred style of learning in bridging education than profession-specific factors. IEPs are also illustrated to be highly self-directed learners.Research limitations/implications -The generalizability of these results must be treated with caution due to the small sample size. Several factors influenced the results such as difficulties in accruing a larger and more representative sample. Social implications -Currently, substantial funding is provided for bridging education in Canada.There is little research being conducted on the effectiveness of this type of higher education from the perspective of learning processes. More research is needed to enhance the ability of IEPs to succeed in these programs. Ultimately, it can improve new immigrant professionals' success in the labor market. Originality/value -Research on bridging education is still in its infancy and there is little research evidence to guide the development of effective programs. Some research indicates that bridging education programs are useful for providing profession-specific language training and orientation to the Canadian workplace. If the preferred learning styles of immigrant professionals can be identified, more effective courses for immigrant learners can be developed. Educators can create incr...

To succeed in Canadian health professions, university education programs students must initially meet a variety of program-specific and English-language admission requirements. For non-native English-speaking (NNES) students, a major challenge can be the demonstration of profession-specific academic literacy and, in particular, adequate language competency prior to admission and throughout the program. Despite the increased numbers in the adult NNES student population in Canada, the current academic literacy requirements within these programs have received minimal research focus. This study explores thecongruency of program requirements and learning supports within three major health professions programs across six Canadian universities. The data analyzed for this qualitative study include program documents on publicly accessible websites and a focused literature review. Findings suggest that in medicine, nursing, and pharmacy programs, discipline-specific academic literacy manifests itself in a wide variety of specialized written genres, ranging from reflections to theoretical analysis. Academic literacy is essential to the socialization of new students into these specialized programs and into the professions. Suggestions are offered to enhance universities’ support of the development of academic literacy of NNES students. Pour réussir comme professionnels de la santé au Canada, les étudiants inscrits aux programmes d’enseignement universitaire doivent d’abord satisfaire à une variété de conditions d’admission relatives au programme qu’ils ont choisi et à leur connaissance de l’anglais. Pour les étudiants dont la langue maternelle n’est pas l’anglais (NNES, pour « non-native English speakers »), la nécessité de faire preuve de littératie académique dans la profession de leur choix et, en particulier, celle d’une compétence langagière suffisante avant leur admission et tout au long du programme choisi peuvent constituer un défi de taille. Bien que la population des étudiants adultes de type NNES ait augmenté au Canada, les exigences actuelles de littératie académique liées à ces programmes n’ont fait l’objet que de travaux de recherche rudimentaires. La présente étude explore la concordance entre les exigences des programmes d’études et les soutiens pédagogiques au sein de trois importants programmes de formation de professionnels de la santé dans six universités canadiennes. Les données analysées pour cette étude qualitative comprennent la documentation sur les programmes concernés disponible sur des sites Web accessibles au grand public ainsi qu’une analyse documentaire ciblée. Les constatations suggèrent que, dans les programmes d’études médicales, infirmières, et pharmaceutiques, la littératie académique liée à une discipline particulière se manifeste dans une grande variété de genres d’écriture spécialisés allant de réflexions à l’analyse théorique. La littératie académique est essentielle à l’insertion des nouveaux étudiants dans ces programmes spécialisés de même que dans les professions. Des suggestions sont offertes pour rehausser le niveau du soutien des universités au développement des étudiants NNES dans le domaine de la littératie académique.

No abstract

No abstract