Developing a research agenda to support northern internationally educated nurses return to the healthcare workforce

The nursing workforce is in crisis. The BC government’s commitment to health workforce strategy highlights that a systemic approach supporting nurses with international education (IENs) living in British Columbia returning to the workforce needs to be updated and strengthened. The proposed activities are based on this need and call for a learning system approach to workforce planning, including building capacity for IEN networking, education, recruitment, and retention. Applying learning systems principles to co-create a nimble northern post-secondary-health authority partnership will require effective teamwork to develop a research agenda on IEN access to education to support workforce sustainability. To use evidence to guide IEN programming in northern BC, we intend to invite provincial partners and stakeholders and facilitate a face-to-face meeting, followed by four online group meetings. Participatory techniques will be used in these sessions to explore the practicality of original and creative solutions for IEN nurse assessment, education, and employment in the north. Finally, we will focus on determining ways to improve IEN systems in practice, research, and policy across BC.