Program

8:30am - 9:00am

Registration and  Breakfast (Room E)

 Opening Remarks (Room C)

9:00am - 9:15am

Associate Professor Lillie Lum, School of Nursing and  School of  Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Health, York University

Associate Professor Pat Bradley, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, York University

9:15am - 9:30am

Welcome from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) Manager, Labour Market Integration Unit, Suzanne Gordon

 MCI Perspective on Professional Communication and Labour Market Integration

9:30am - 10:15am

Communication Competency of Regulated Professionals in Ontario: The Administrative Law Perspective

Keynote Speaker: Taivi Lobu, Interim Chair, Ontario Health Professions Appeal and Review Board

10:15am – 10:30am

Break (Room E)

10:30am - 11:00am

Overview of Oral Language/Communication Nursing Project Dr. Lillie Lum, YU (Room C)

11:00am - 11:45am

Language and Cultural Diversity of Immigrant Nurses in Ontario Dr. Pat Bradley, YU (Room C)

11:45am - 12:30pm

Language-Related Challenges of Labour Market Integration Dr. Lillie Lum, YU

(Room C)

12:30pm - 1:30pm

Lunch  (Room E and Posters)

Three Concurrent Breakout Sessions * Details on next page

1:30pm - 2:50pm

1.     Language Assessment and Testing of Immigrant Nurses  (Room A)

2.     English / Language Education for Nurses                               (Room B)

3.     Inter-professional Communication                                           (Room D)

2:50pm - 3:00pm

Break and Form Groups

3:00pm - 3:45pm

Four Concurrent Roundtable Discussion Groups (Room A, B, C, D)

* Details on next page

3:45pm - 4:30pm

Policy Implications and Future Directions (Room C)

4:30pm - 4:45pm

Closing Remarks (Room C)

Professor Zubin Austin, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto

4:45pm - 6:00pm

Reception (Room E)

Concurrent Breakout Session Program (1:30pm – 2:50pm)

Room A

Language Assessment and Testing of Immigrant Nurses

Institutional Canadian English Language Benchmark for Nurses and its Effectiveness in Assessing Language Competency for the Nursing Profession Maria Berrafati & Erica Fagan, Mohawk College

Professional Communication Development of Internationally Educated Nurses: Assessing Challenges, Suggesting Solutions Nadia Kulikova and Yuliya Miakisheva, YUELI, York University 

Room B

English / Language Education for Nurses

Using Workshops and Tutoring to Promote Language Competency of IENs Yuliya Miakisheva and Kareen Sharawy, YUELI, York University

Language and Communication Supports for Work-Ready Nurses – A Successful Employer – Bridging Program Collaboration Joanne Roth (CARE) ,Ruth Lee (Chief of Nursing Practice) & Daniela Beckford, Hamilton Health Sciences Centre

Room D

Inter-professional Communication

Language Barriers and the Transitions of International Accounting Professionals in Ontario Kelly Thomson and Joanne Jones, School of Administrative Studies, York University

OSLT Inter-Professional Education for IEPs Peggy Irwin (OSLT), Peiman Pournaghshband (OSLT course participant/Candidate, Internationally Educated Dietitians Pre-registration Program, Ryerson University), Sharon Switzer-McIntyre (University of Toronto), Tej Wadhwa (Ryerson University) 

Key Questions for Concurrent Roundtable Discussion Groups (3:00pm - 3:45pm)

Question 1 in room A

How do factors such as cultural diversity, gender, institutional practices etc. affect the ability of internationally educated professionals to meet current regulatory requirements?

Question 2 in room B

How effective are current approaches to professional communication development within bridging education programs in preparing new immigrants for employment in Ontario?

Question 3 in room C

What collaborative strategies, between educators, regulators and policy makers, could be implemented to facilitate professional communication development for new immigrants?

Question 4 in room D

What are the implications for improving the current professional communication and development components of bridging education programs in Ontario?