Culturally And Linguistically Diverse nurses’ experiences with career progression in Australia.

Introduction
In Australia, the nursing shortage has been curbed by an increase in employment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) nurses. Hence, it is important to understand their experiences and challenges so that policies which enhance an inclusive career progression pathway can be implemented.

Purpose
To explore the experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse nurses’ career progression in Australia.

Methods
The study is a qualitative design. Data collection is through snowball sampling and currently in progress for overseas trained or migrant registered nurses (RN), from a CALD background who have been working in Australia for over a year. Semi structured in depth interviews will be conducted. Recruitment and data collection continue until there is no new data provided by subsequent participants. It is anticipated that data saturation will be reached when 10-12 CALD RNs have been engaged in the semi structured interviews which is consistent with qualitative research. Data will be transcribed verbatim and analysed by thematic analysis. The six phases of analysis recommended by Braun and Clarke (2006) will guide the process.

Results
The interviews from four participants so far have generated the following themes: unequal career progression opportunities, discrimination experiences, workplace culture influences, extra qualifications for promotion and changing the work dynamic for career progression opportunities elsewhere. Recruitment of six to eight more CALD registered nurse participants is currently in progress.

Conclusion
CALD registered nurses constitute most of the workforce in healthcare settings in Australia, due to an increase in recruitment. It is, therefore, imperative to get an understanding of CALD registered nurses’ lived experiences of career progression to ensure an inclusive and diverse career progression is achieved.