International nursing students: a phenomenological perspective

Colleges and universities are faced with the challenge of how to create learning environments relevant to the internationalization of society and culture. International learning experiences, the focus of this article, may be one effective tool for internationalizing nursing curricula. Baccalaureate nursing students with international education experiences who were residing in a rural USA state were invited to participate in a qualitative descriptive study informed by phenomenology. Sixteen nursing students participated in mail surveys and eleven in interviews. Participants were mainly female, Caucasian, university seniors with an average age of 31 years. Thematic statements were isolated into nine experiential structures and four essential themes. Themes were identified as preparing, adjusting, caring, and transforming and were found to be influenced by culture, values, and ethics. A descriptive diagram was created summarizing the structure of meaning. Significance of this nursing study was the identification of plausible descriptive insights that may be useful to educators who assist students with international education experiences. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.