Abstract

Aim: To describe nurse educators’ views of how culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses are integrated into healthcare settings.

Design: A qualitative descriptive design was adopted.

Participants: A total of 20 nurse educators were recruited from three higher education institutions in Finland.

Methods: Participants were recruited in the spring of 2021 through snowball sampling. Individual semi-structured interviews were held and recorded. The collected data were analysed using inductive content analysis.

Results: The performed content analysis identified a total of 534 meaning units from the data, which were categorized into 343 open codes and 29 sub-categories. Furthermore, nine categories were identified and categorized into three main categories. The first main category was pre-graduation and represented a time point during which educators experienced early integration, nurse educator support and cooperation with stakeholders. The second main category was integration strategies into healthcare settings, which included workplace strategies, language competence and individual competencies and attributes. The third main category was the post-graduation experience, during which educators reported organizational readiness, migration and efficacy of the integrational model.

Conclusions: The results revealed a need for increased resources linked to how nurse educators support the integration of culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses. Moreover, a nurse educator’s presence during the last clinical placement, early transition and integration was found to exert a significant effect on the smooth integration of culturally and linguistically diverse future nurses.

Impact: This study establishes the need to enhance stakeholder cooperation between universities and other organizations towards supporting the integration process. Maximizing nurse educators’ support during the final clinical practice, early transition and post-graduation allows for successful integration and intention to stay.

Reporting Method: This study was reported according to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR).

Patient or Public Participation: Participating educators shared their experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse future nurses’ integration.