Student outcomes of an international learning collaborative to develop patient safety and quality competencies in nursing

Background Patient harm is a global crisis fueling negative outcomes for patients around the world. Working together in an international learning collaborative fostered learning with, from and about each other to develop evidence-based strategies for developing quality and safety competencies in nursing. Aims To report student outcomes from an international learning collaborative focused on patient safety using the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competency framework. Methods A global consortium of nursing faculty created an international learning collaborative and designed educational strategies for an online pre-workshop and a 10-day in-person experience for 21 undergraduate and graduate nursing students from six countries. A retrospective pre-test post-test survey measured participants' confidence levels of patient safety competence using the health professional education in patient safety survey and content analysis of daily reflective writings. Results Statistical analysis revealed student confidence levels improved across all eight areas of safe practice comparing-pre and post-education (significance, alpha of P < 0.05). Two overarching themes, reactions to shared learning experiences and shared areas of learning and development, reflected Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies and a new cultural understanding. Conclusions The international learning collaborative demonstrated that cross-border learning opportunities can foster global development of quality and safety outcome goals.