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Aim This study aims to improve the efficiency of the application for registration process for internationally educated nurses seeking licensure to practice. Background The licensure and employment of internationally educated nurses has been one strategy to address the global nursing shortage. However, little is known about which application characteristics relate to success in obtaining licensure. Design This project uses evidence from a retrospective statistical analysis of four years of internationally educated nurse application data to inform the development and implementation of changes to policies and practices at the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta. Analysis of application data will also be conducted to evaluate the impact of the changes on outcomes and timelines. Methods The project encompasses four phases, with funding from Health Canada's Internationally Educated Health Professionals Initiative approved in March 2011. Phase One focuses on a statistical analysis of application data to identify characteristics associated with success in the application process and quantify timelines for the phases of the process. The resulting knowledge will inform Phase Two, the development and implementation of policy and practice changes. Further analysis will be completed in Phase Three, comparing outcomes and timelines between pre- and postimplementation data using statistical analyses and exemplar-based statistics. Phase Four will focus on dissemination and knowledge transfer, potentially leading to further changes. Discussion Findings, policy and practice adaptations and implementation evaluation will provide evidence about the internationally educated nurse application for registration process to Registered Nurse regulators, educational institutions, internationally educated nurses, employers and governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As leaders for nursing education, nursing research, healthcare administration and patient safety, we asked one another: How do we use our collective resources to build health system capacity for clinically based research training and safer healthcare? Drawing on knowledge from the field of ecological restoration, which is the study and repair of damaged ecosystems, we partnered the Safer Systems research program of the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, with Capital Health's Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH), the Caritas Health Group, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and several funding agencies to provide hands-on training in clinical research, infection control and patient safety policy development for nursing students during the summer months. As we plan ahead, our student and staff evaluations show that together, we can make concrete, vital contributions to student education, nursing research, evidence-informed practice, clinical quality improvement and national policy. We are using what we have learned to continually expand the range of undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral clinical learning opportunities in healthcare safety that are available year round. Our shared goal is to support current and future nurses in leading the way for safer healthcare systems and the safest possible healthcare.