Background Nurse migration impacts global healthcare, which has a shortage of nurses, as many nurses move from lower-income to higher-income countries for better opportunities, working conditions, and salaries. Internationally educated nurses (IENs) have often been seen as a crucial solution to this issue. However, policies and regulations have been set in place to protect the public, including the recertification process and training to ensure educational comparability and competence. IENs' contributions to the nursing workforce are significant, underscoring the importance of these policies and regulations. Aim The aim was to describe the demographic and social characteristics of IENs who had completed recertification for nurses' licenses in Sweden and to compare these characteristics among those who completed recertification through the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) or bridging programs. Methods A cross-sectional design using a survey and 818 questionnaires was sent to IENs with an identified postal address who had undergone the recertification process in Sweden. Of them, 296 (38%) were completed. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Fischer's exact tests, and independent sample t-tests. Results Most IENs who had participated in a bridging program were women, commonly aged between 31 and 40 years of age who had immigrated mainly from Asian or Middle Eastern countries for family-related reasons. The average time to obtain a nursing license was 5.9 years, starting from the year they immigrated until recertification. IENs who received recertification by the NBHW were significantly younger (p < .001), had been in Sweden for a shorter time (p < .001), and the time to license was shorter (p < .001). Significant differences were also shown for origin (p < .001) and reason for immigration (p < .001). Conclusions The findings can be used by decision-makers and authorities when developing higher education strategies for legalization and immigration policy to contribute to IENs' career advancement opportunities.

This paper explores how newly arrived migrant students (NAMS) imagine their future educational trajectories and how these anticipations may shape their actions in the present, i.e. while attending introductory education in Sweden. Theoretically our study is situated in interpretive sociology and sociology of time, particularly in the cognitive dimensions of projectivity, proposed by Mische (2009). Empirically we draw on a qualitative interview study with 36 NAMS aged 16-19. Two primary trajectories are identified: untroubled trajectory, characterized by long-term planning, expanding opportunities, and active agency; and uncertain trajectory, marked by a short-term focus, lack of knowledge about the educational system, and a passive stance toward the future. These primary trajectories are further divided into three subtrajectories with distinct properties. Untroubled trajectories are linked to opportunities, while uncertain trajectories reflect precarity and disadvantages. These findings refine previous research on NAMS's educational experiences and interpretations of their educational prospects. The paper also suggests that this conceptual and analytical framework contributes to a broader understanding of how imagined futures shape actions across different life stages and ages. These findings have relevance beyond the educational context, offering insights into how migrants and other people navigate transitions, such as between life phases, in career planning, or when approaching retirement.

The sociology of imagined futures is a growing field of research with a need for empirical as well as theoretical exploration. Theoretically, our article is situated in interpretive sociology and sociology of time, theorising on how future orientation may shape actions and agency in the present. Our analysis is grounded in cognitive dimensions of projectivity to identify variations in imagined educational trajectories. Empirically, we build on a qualitative interview study with newly arrived migrant students between 16 and 19 years old. Two primary trajectories are discerned: untroubled trajectory, characterised by long-term planning, expanding opportunities, and active agency; and uncertain trajectory, marked by a short-term focus, lack of knowledge about the educational system, and a passive stance toward the future. These primary trajectories are further divided into three subtrajectories with distinct properties. The analysis extends the theoretical framework by proposing 'plausibility' as an additional cognitive dimension of projectivity. The study demonstrates how projected future trajectories shape students' present actions, revealing that untroubled trajectories are linked to opportunities, while uncertain trajectories are associated with disadvantages, thereby refining previous research on NAMS's educational experiences and interpretations of their educational prospects.

Background To aid in the recertification and integration process of internationally educated nurses (IENs), many countries have organized bridging programs to provide support and education and align their knowledge and competence with local requirements. The importance and relevance of these programs for IENs are highlighted in related research. However, the experiences of university teachers, supervisors in clinical placement, and administrators organizing these programs are scarcely explored. The aim of this article is to explore the experiences of professional educators engaged in bridging programs at two universities in Sweden. 

Methods A descriptive qualitative approach was employed. The data were collected between December 2021 and March 2023 through semi-structured interviews with 15 educators involved in bridging programs at two universities in Sweden. The participants included university teachers, administrators, and supervisors in clinical placement. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. 

Findings The thematic analysis identified two main themes: (1) teaching a heterogeneous group of students and (2) organizational constraints of bridging programs. In relation to the first main theme, three subthemes were identified: educational and professional heterogeneity of IENs, varying language competencies of IENs and finding new approaches to teaching IENs. For the second main theme, three sub-themes were identified: compressed time in bridging programs, lack of resources for a time-consuming education and bridging programs as competition for resources. 

Conclusions This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges associated with the recertification process of IENs through bridging programs from the perspective of educators. The findings highlight that educating a heterogeneous group of students, such as internationally educated nurses with differences in professional experience, knowledge and local language competencies, is time-consuming. Educators need to learn about the level of knowledge of the student group and individual learning needs and adapt the instructions accordingly, which is constrained by the organization of the programs. The findings also indicate that educators can find ways to mitigate these challenges and adapt their instructions to meet the needs of students. Therefore, it is important to allocate time and resources to running bridging programs and to support the cooperation and exchange of information between universities and clinics. We also suggest the need to increase the competency level of educators on how to support learning through a second language and enhancing collaboration with language instructors to ensure high-quality education for IENs. 

This study explores how school professionals manage the challenges of educating newly arrived migrant students (NAMS), with a focus on the transition from the Language Introduction Program (LIP) to a national upper secondary school program or alternative forms of education. We draw on the theoretical framework of Inhabited Institutionalism to understand how school professionals’ interpretations and sense-making of external policy pressures and internal challenges of teaching a diverse group of students are shaped by social interaction. The study reveals that professionals are critical of the educational system and its consequences for NAMS’ education, due to its rigid admission requirements and unrealistic timeframes. To mitigate the potential effects on students’ educational trajectories, the professionals employ both cooling-out and warming-up strategies. The study emphasizes the significance of social interaction among school professionals in interpreting the educational system and its consequences and suggests that the outcome of negotiations among professionals regarding different strategies is likely to have a significant impact on the future trajectories of NAMS.

Increasing the employment rate and community establishment, as well as decreasing economic and social vulnerability, among newly-arrived migrants and foreign-born jobseekers are the objectives behind several local activation initiatives and projects around Sweden. This article is based on a study of a local activation project, primarily consisting of analyses of interviews with professional coordinators and other project actors. The aim of the article is to deepen the knowledge of the coordinated working method in local activation policy by critically analysing how different ideas about empowerment are part of the method and what significance this has in relation to newly-arrived migrants and foreign-born job seekers. The results show that the coordinating approach is based on principles that place the job-seeking individual's needs at the centre and that there is a tension in the working method between activation and labour market establishment, and social support and care. The studied activation project is based on both a liberal and radical ideology of empowerment. In practising the coordinating approach, however, a liberal ideology and understanding of empowerment dominate through its strong individual focus. The radical empowerment ideology with its structure-changing ambitions regarding the participants’ increased self-sufficiency, independence and empowerment are to a limited extent enforced within the project. The authors argue for the difficulties of using the concept of empowerment and its far-reaching liberation ambitions within the context of activation policy. Nevertheless, disciplining requirements and rules around self-sufficiency, individualised responsibility takeover and requirements for reciprocity within the activation of activities rather risk consolidating conditions of disempowerment for already vulnerable groups of job seekers.

Background: Countries all over the world are experiencing a shortage of registered nurses (RNs). Therefore, some countries, including Sweden, have tried to solve this by recruiting internationally educated nurses (IENs). Countries offer bridging programs as educational support to qualify IENs for nursing work in the destination country. However, there is little research on IENs’ experiences of bridging programs in European countries and how these programs facilitate their integration into the world of work and their new society. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of nurses, originally educated outside the EU (European Union)/EES, of the Swedish bridging program and of the program’s role in facilitating their integration into the nursing profession in Sweden.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore the topic based on 11 informants’ perspectives and experiences. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants at one university in Sweden. Data were collected by individual interviews using a semi- structured interview guide during the year 2019 and were analysed using an interpretative thematic approach.

Results: Two main themes emerged from the analysis: 1) Return to nursing, and 2) The bridging program as a tool for transition to nursing in Sweden. The first theme includes conditions and experiences such as personal motivation and determination, and support from others that the participants described as important in order to achieve the goal of re-establishing themselves as registered nurses in Sweden. Furthermore, the second theme describes the participants’ experiences of the bridging program as mostly positive because it led to new learning and achievements that were valuable for the transition to nursing in Sweden; however, the participants also emphasised the challenges of their transition into the nursing profession, which were related to instances of misrecognition of their professional competence and the uncertain outcome of the program.

Conclusions: This study found that the bridging program facilitated integration into the nursing profession for nurses educated outside the EU/EES, especially knowledge gained in clinical-based training. Thus, it is important to recognise and value the IENs’ experience and previous knowledge and training when developing the bridging program’s curriculum.