On February 28th, 2012 over 50 stakeholders from universities, colleges, immigrant settlement organizations, healthcare institutions, nursing regulatory bodies, and provincial and federal government ministries attended the CASN IEN Bridging Project Forum. The Forum was used to present stakeholders with the Pan-Canadian Framework of Guiding Principles and Essential Components for IEN Bridging Programs and the accompanying Self Assessment Guide. Round table discussions were held to assess how various stakeholders could support the integration of the best practices contained in this document into IEN bridging programs. In the afternoon session, CASN presented the results from the online Pan-Canadian Framework of Guiding Principles and Essential Components for IEN Bridging Programs Self Assessment Guide. The online Self Assessment Guide was created in order to evaluate where programs from across the country align with the essential components. Areas of strength and weaknesses within the programs were highlighted during the presentation. Participants brainstormed ways that IEN bridging programs could achieve further compliance with the Framework. The Forum, occurring at the end of this Health Canada funded project, was a wonderful opportunity to create awareness about the project’s final products, and to collaborate on ideas for next steps.
