Nursing Study Abroad Short-term Programs
Since the School of Nursing inaugurated the first full-semester clinical and didactic education abroad program in the United States less than a decade ago, students now have opportunities both for a full semester or for a variety of shorter education abroad experiences.
“For many students, this time may be the only opportunity they ever have to travel abroad,” explained Dr. Mikki Meadows-Oliver, associate clinical professor and coordinator of global nursing education programs. “Often they are leaving home for the first time, experiencing new customs, traditions, and social settings in their host countries.”
“These experiences allow students to step outside their comfort zone,” Meadows-Oliver said. “They are learning within the security of our structured, supportive academic program.
There are both personal and professional benefits of education abroad for the new nurse graduate. “Students create lasting relationships with fellow students while studying abroad,” Meadows-Oliver explained. “And these experiences may be attractive to employers, making our students more competitive on the job market.”
Short-term education abroad experiences include a four-week nursing research course at University College Dublin during the summer between undergraduates’ sophomore and junior years.
There are also capstone experiences in students’ final semester: an end-of-life and palliative care seminar in Ghent, Belgium, and an introduction to health systems in the People’s Republic of China, including a survey of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong and Beijing.
In December 2015, Dean Cusson traveled to Hong Kong to present at the 20th anniversary of the University of Hong Kong School of Nursing. While there, she also visited nursing schools in Beijing and Taiwan to begin a dialog about student and faculty exchange programs, especially a new interdisciplinary leadership and research summer intensive. She found her Asian colleagues to be very receptive to collaborative relationships with UConn School of Nursing.
“Particular benefits from short-term education abroad include allowing students to experience a health care delivery system different from that in the United States,” Meadows-Oliver explained. “Students are also able to immerse themselves in a different culture even if for only a short time. They are able to experience a different way of life than what they would normally experience.”
Nursing education and practices vary widely around the world. The scope of practice differs in different national settings. However, education abroad students learn what is common to global nursing, including holistic care to patients and families. At the same time UConn School of Nursing students provide patient and family education in their host communities.
A complex and varied education abroad program is not without its challenges to administrators, faculty, and students. “Administrators and faculty have to make sure that our students are receiving an equivalent education to that of their peers on campus,” Meadows-Oliver said. “We accomplish this by sending our own School of Nursing faculty for the clinical education abroad experience in Cape Town, South Africa, and the clinical education away experience in Puerto Rico.” Careful formal agreements between the School of Nursing and University College Dublin, facilitated by the University of Connecticut’s education abroad office, give full credit for the four-week summer course there.
Challenges for students include missing family and friends during a full-semester abroad, while short-term experiences require special accommodations with faculty in didactic and clinical courses.
The School of Nursing’s education abroad opportunities now include a two-and-a-half week experience in Cape Town for CEIN/BS students. Recently approved and now in the planning stages is a community health capstone experience in Cape Town to begin in the spring 2017 semester.
