NURSING ACROSS CULTURES - THE COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS OF INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED NURSES WORKING WITH OLDER ADULTS

Sep 2, 2026

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Internationally educated nurses (IENs) contribute critical capacity in Canada while aging and multicultural populations expand care needs. Yet research highlights that limited language proficiency can impede workforce entry, retention, and employment matched to prior competence. This doctoral thesis investigates communication skills for registered and registered practical nurses working with older adults in Ontario, focusing on sociolinguistic and sociocultural needs, and perceived educational strengths and weaknesses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages234

Reading Time9 h 50 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Acknowledgments

NURSING ACROSS CULTURES: THE COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS OF INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATEDNURSES WORKING WITH OLDER ADULTS by Margaret Victoria Hearnden A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirementsfor the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Curriculum,Teaching and LearningOntario Institute for Studies in Education of theUniversity of Toronto Copyright by Margaret Victoria Hearnden (2007) Bibliothèque et Library and Archives Canada Archives Canada Direction duPatrimoine de l'édition Published HeritageBranch 395,rue Wellington 395 Wellington StreetOttawa ON K1A ON4Canada Ottawa ON K1AON4 Canada Your file Votre référenceISBN:978-0-494-39431-1Our file Notre réferenceISBN:978-0-494-39431-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non-exclusive license allowing Libraryand Archives Canada to reproduce,publish,archive,preserve,conserve,communicate to the public bytelecommunication or on the Internet,loan,distribute and sell thesesworldwide,for commercial or non-commercial purposes,in microform,paper,electronic and/or any otherformats. L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusivepermettant à la Bibliotheque et ArchivesCanada de reproduire,publier,archiver,sauvegarder,conserver,transmettre au publicpar télécommunication ou par I'Internet,preter,distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dansle monde,à des fins commerciales ou autres,sur support microforme,papier,électroniqueet/ou autres formats. L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteuret des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse.Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels decelle-ci ne doivent etre imprimés ou autrementreproduits sans son autorisation. The author retains copyrightownership and moral rights inthis thesis.Neither the thesisnor substantial extracts from itmay be printed or otherwisereproduced without the author'spermission. In compliance with the CanadianPrivacy Act some supportingforms may have been removedfrom this thesis. Conformément à la loi canadiennesur la protection de la vie privée,quelques formulaires secondairesont été enlevés de cette thèse. Bien que ces formulairesaient inclus dans la pagination,il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. While these forms may be includedin the document page count,their removal does not representany loss of content from thethesis. ■* anada NURSING ACROSS CULTURES: # THE COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS OF INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED NURSESWORKING WITH OLDER ADULTSDoctor of Philosophy,2007Margaret Victoria Hearnden Department of Curriculum,Teaching and LearningUniversity of Toronto ## Abstract “The authentic experience of life begins with communication”(Arnold&Underman Boggs,2003,p.vii). In Canada and elsewhere,internationally educated nurses (IENs)provide valuableresources to address existing and predicted nurse shortages concurrent with the needs of agingand growing multicultural populations(Buchan,2002a;Canadian Nurses Association [CNA]andCanadian Federation of Nurses Unions [CFNU],2004;Epp,et al.,2002).Research indicates thatlimited language proficiency hinders some IENs entering or staying in the workforce (L.Munro,2003)or leads others to take employment below their skill level.This study aimed to explore thecommunication skills required of Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses workingwith older adults in Ontario.The specific research questions were:1)what sociolinguistic andsociocultural needs do IENs experience in their work with older adults?and 2)what do IENs seeas the strengths and weaknesses in the educational opportunities they have had in terms ofmeeting the sociolinguistic and sociocultural needs of working with older adults?Usinginterviews and questionnaires,data were collected over 9 months from 19 IEN and 9 non-IENparticipants.Within a theoretical framework of Sociocultural Theory,which recognises languageas an important cultural artifact and mediational tool(Daniels,2001),and the concept ofLegitimate Peripheral Participation,which provides a way of unde

FAQs

这项研究关注哪些护理人员与服务对象？

研究对象是在安大略省与老年人工作的注册护士（Registered Nurses）和注册实务护士（Registered Practical Nurses），其中包含国际受教育护士（IENs）与非IEN参与者。

研究的核心问题是什么？

研究重点在于：国际受教育护士在与老年人工作时所经历的社会语言与社会文化需求，以及他们如何看待自身教育经历在满足这些需求方面的优势与不足。

研究发现与主要障碍有哪些？

研究指出，IENs可能面临显著障碍，尤其包括语言能力、语用灵活性，以及最具体的社会文化能力不足；此外，教育支持在很多情况下不一致且不充分，导致难以自信地达到执业入门所需水平。

Sep 2, 2026

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