Transitioning Internationally Educated Nurses for Success: A Model Program

Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) are, and will continue to be an important part of the nursing workforce in the United States and throughout the world. They bring a variety of knowledge, skills, and experience to their new practice areas. Although the benefits of their knowledge, skills, and experience can be enhanced by successfully integrating them in the healthcare system of their new country, this may be a challenging process. The transition challenges of IENs are not due to lack of knowledge or clinical skills, but rather are linked to socio-cultural differences, including the structure of the healthcare systems; language subtleties such as use of idioms, acronyms, and abbreviations; and unfamiliarity with their new surroundings. Transitional programs can serve to bridge the practice gaps between IENs’ previous and new experiences. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania TIENS (Transitioning Internationally Educated Nurses for Success) Program is presented as a model to help organizations develop programs for IENS to ease their transition into the U.S. healthcare system. This article explains why IENs are a key component of the U.S. nursing workforce now and for the foreseeable future, presents a rationale for transition programs that support successful integration of IENs to the U.S. practice environment, describes a model Transition Program, and advocates for the development of a national policy to standardize transition programs for IENs in the United States.