<b>Immigration, Professional Identity, and Mental Health in the Lives of Internationally Educated Nurses</b>

Immigration, Professional Identity, and Mental Health in the Lives of IENsThe journey of internationally educated nurses (IENs) is often framed by discussions of licensure, credential recognition, and workforce integration.These processes are essential and deserve continued attention.However, they do not fully capture the lived realities of IENs as they navigate new professional, cultural, and institutional landscapes.Beyond regulatory pathways lies another equally important journey, shaped by identity formation, professional recalibration, and the search for belonging.Many IENs arrive with established careers, advanced practice roles, leadership experiences, and scholarly identities developed across global contexts, yet they find themselves navigating systems that do not readily recognize this history.In my experience as an IEN, this meant learning to hold multiple identities simultaneously: mental health clinician, educator, researcher, immigrant, and lifelong learner.Rather than progressing along a predictable path, my professional development occurred in cycles, marked by uncertainty, reflection, and gradual re-anchoring.This nonlinear trajectory reflects the reality for many IENs whose growth unfolds through adaptation rather than continuity.Professional reinvention for IENs is inseparable from the broader experience of immigration.Relocating to a new country brings profound personal disruption, including separation from family, loss of established social networks, and the emotional labour of rebuilding one's life while meeting demanding professional expectations.Immigration