Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) have been proposed as one solution to dealing with the nursing shortage in Canada. In addition to helping sustain the profession, IENs are reflective of the diverse patient populations in Canada. Investments will ensure healthy workplaces for and retention of IENs. There has been a growing interest about IENs’ experiences with migration and navigating through the regulatory process, but research on their post-transition experience is lacking. Workplace integration for IENs is not well understood and the role of the employer has received limited focus. Guided by critical social theory, an instrumental qualitative case study approach was used to examine a single organization, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, with a history of supporting IENs. A purposeful sample of twenty-eight participants included diverse IENs who were post-transition, and stakeholders from various vantage points. Four forms of data collection were used: semi-structured interviews; socio-demographic survey; review of documents and focus groups. Thematic analysis was carried out to form a within subcase analysis first, followed by an across subcase analysis. The major themes are: (a) when “integrated”, an IEN is (i) being a “Canadian nurse with international experience”; (ii) progressing on the leadership journey; and (iii) persevering in overcoming challenges; (b) organizational factors that influence workplace integration of IEN are (i) workforce diversity; (ii) leadership commitment to equity; (iii) policies promoting equity principles; (iv) engagement with the broader community; and (v) avoiding common pitfalls. This research offers a definition and conceptual framework where workplace integration of IENs is a “two-way” process within an inclusive and valuing context, producing changes both at the IEN as well as organizational levels.

The government and civil society have taken steps to combat the segregation in Malmö through integration initiatives. This thesis studies four NGO integration programmes found within Skåne Stadsmission and the Red Cross Malmö. The primary research question is: How do volunteers and employees at NGOs in Malmö work with the integration of migrants? The thesis aims to understand the role staff and volunteers at NGOs play in the integration of migrants, what perspective they have on integration, and what challenges they face. The primary material consists of interviews conducted with six volunteers and employees. The thesis uses Putnam’s Social Capital theory and finds that NGO programmes foster social networks, creating social capital that benefits migrants’ integration. The programmes are found to focus on migrants’ assimilation and conclude that a two-way process of integration is not identified, rather the programmes work by teaching migrants to navigate Swedish bureaucracy and find employment.