Immediately prior to and during the conduct of this study, it was becoming clear that several different Canadian stakeholders had become more interested in the issues facing IEHPs attempting to become integrated into the health care workforce. This change can be partially attributed to the local political pressure from the IEHPs' lobby groups as well as broader concerns with shortages of certain health professionals in particular sectors. As a result, a number of provincial and federal policy initiatives had been employed to facilitate the integration of IEHPs into the health care sector. Among them are: 1) the standardization and improvement of information on the licensing process and retraining in health related fields; 2) the establishment of a number of bridging programs and language courses designed specifically for IEHPs; 3) improvements in inter-provincial and federal-provincial communication between ministries and regulatory bodies; and 4) communication with potential employers regarding the benefits of hiring IEHPs (Baumann & Blythe 2009). Continuing to streamline the process of integration of IEHPs (which includes effective communication of information, profession-specific requirements by CIC, and the standardization of the process of accreditation by all Canadian provinces) and further work with potential employers (to ensure that they understand the benefits of hiring IEHPs) were identified in a recent report issued for the Ontario Hospital Association as major facilitators for the successful integration of IEHPs (Baumann & Blythe 2009).

In this section, we highlight the facilitators to integration that were most salient to the IEHPS that we interviewed. We first address how pre-immigration arrangements made while an IEHP is still in their country or origin can reduce some of the barriers to integration. Several of the IEHPs also felt that appropriately targeted information sessions available at the outset and throughout the immigration and integration process facilitated their success. The bulk of this section is, however, devoted to the various bridging programs that have been established, which not only help to upgrade skills, but also assist with the amorphous cultural competency problems we outlined above. Finally, we discuss how alternative routes to utilize health professional skills can be both a facilitator to integration, as well as an end in and of itself for those deciding to redirect their efforts.