Lessons learned: Why study-abroad remains a critical component of nursing curriculums

Caring for an increasingly older and multicultural patient population requires nurses and APNs who are able to integrate cultural competency in meeting the needs of their patients while decreasing health care disparities. A study-abroad immersion experience is one way to instill deep learning and cultural competency. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experience of baccalaureate nursing students and APN students working together in a study-abroad, service-learning experience. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) ( Smith & Osborn, 2003 ), we explored the lived experience of Baccalaureate and Advanced Practice Nursing Students in a service-learning, study-abroad experience in Belize. Emergent themes derived from students' journal transcripts were: (1) Allowing learning to take place; (2) Practicing nursing with limited resources (3) A different take on culture; and (4) Kinship with peers. From this theme two sub themes emerged: 1) students' connection with the people and the country, and 2) students' connection with each other. Cultural immersion prepared students to work in Belize with different patient groups, having varied perspectives related to their health. Students learned that the core values of dignity and caring require that we, as nurses, go where the patient is-not where we want the patient to be. This is tested when students are confronted with a culture not their own.