Reusable personal protective equipment in Canadian healthcare: Safe, secure, and sustainable.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that was intentionally designed and manufactured as reusable, including gowns, goggles, face shields, and elastomeric respirators, took on a heightened role during the pandemic. Healthcare workers who had access to these products and infrastructure for cleaning and sterilizing them had a greater sense of confidence to undertake their jobs due to an increased sense of personal safety. Using multiple data sources, including a literature review, roundtables, interviews, surveys, and Internet-based research, the project team investigated the impact of disposable PPE and role of reusable PPE during the pandemic in Canada. This research supports the claim that adopting and supporting reusable PPE systems throughout the health sector can, if used appropriately on an ongoing basis, provide continuous access to reusable PPE while also contributing many co-benefits, including lower costs, domestic jobs, and improved environmental performance such as reduced waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Multiorganizational Partnerships: A Mechanism for Increasing the Employment of Internationally Educated Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Internationally educated nurses (IENs) face multiple challenges in entering and integrating into the Canadian workforce. These challenges include getting to know the Canadian culture, nursing accountabilities, professional practice requirements and experience or qualifications deemed not equivalent to the Canadian standard. Hamilton Health Sciences' (HHS') IEN Integration Project has been funded by the Ontario and Canadian governments to support IENs in overcoming these challenges and contribute to the healthcare system. AIM: The aim of this article is to describe a multiorganizational project that prepares IENs for employment in Canadian healthcare. STRATEGY: HHS invited partners in education and immigrant support services to co-design the project. A community collaboration employment model (CCEM) was developed to leverage each partner's strengths in targeted interventions to address the needs of IENs, as identified in focus groups. The interventions pertain to professional practice and accountability in the Canadian healthcare setting, workplace language, communication and selected clinical skills. RESULTS: Between project initiation in 2009 and early 2021, 591 IENs obtained employment. CONCLUSION: Multiorganizational partnerships can help build and sustain a strong nursing workforce, and IENs can fill gaps in care. A needs-based approach and the CCEM increased the likelihood of IEN employment. The ability of the CCEM to engage partners makes it relevant for healthcare organizations.