International nursing students: a phenomenological perspective. 2003

The experiences of international students in a Canadian faculty of nursing: A narrative inquiry study

BACKGROUND

In response to the global need for nursing faculty, and nurses in leadership and advanced clinical practice roles, students from different countries come to Canada for their graduate nursing education. The positive reputation and the perceived advantages of the education system are particularly compelling to applicants from the countries located in the Global South. However, these students come from different social, historical, political, cultural, and educational backgrounds that deeply influence their learning experiences in Canada.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY

The aim of this narrative inquiry study was to understand the experiences of international graduate nursing students. The focus was to unravel two puzzles of this inquiry: What stories across social, historical, political, cultural, and educational borders shaped students' identities and ways of knowing? How did the experience in Canada impact their identities?

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Participants were invited from a Master of Nursing program at a research-intensive University in Western Canada.

METHODS

Participants engaged in series of conversations over a period of one year.

RESULTS

Multiplicity of borders and identity making, border making, and border crossing, were the threads that resonated across the narrative accounts.

CONCLUSION

These narrative threads provided insights into the lived experiences of tensions, the shifting of identities, and the day-to-day challenges that international students face while learning in Canada. Being aware of these experiences and acknowledging them could be a significant stride towards addressing the issues of racism, inequity, and exclusion for international students within Canadian graduate nursing education.

Experiences of intensive care nurses assessing sedation/agitation in critically ill patients

BACKGROUND

Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) will more often than not require sedative and analgesic drugs to enable them to tolerate the invasive procedures and therapies caused as a result of their underlying condition and/or necessary medical interventions.

AIM

This article reports a study exploring the perceptions and experiences of intensive care nurses using a sedation/agitation scoring (SAS) tool to assess and manage sedation and agitation amongst critically ill patients. The principle aims and objectives of this study were as follows: to explore nurse's everyday experiences using a sedation scoring tool; to explore and understand nurse's attitudes and beliefs of the various components of assessing and managing sedation among critically ill patients.

METHOD

Using a descriptive qualitative approach, semistructured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of eight ICU nurses within a district general hospital ICU. The interviews focused on nurses own experiences and perceptions of using a sedation scoring tool in clinical practice. Burnards 14-stage thematic content analysis framework was employed to assist in the data analysis process.

RESULTS

Three key themes emerged that may have implications not only for clinical practice but for further research into the use of the SAS tool. Benefits to patient care as a direct result of using a sedation scoring tool. The concerns of nursing staff. The implications of using such a tool in clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

This paper reinforces the potential benefits to patients as a direct result of implementing the SAS scoring tool and clinical guidelines. Furthermore, it highlights the reluctance of a number of staff to adhere to such guidelines and discusses the concerns regarding less experienced nurses administering sedative agents. Attention was also drawn to the educational requirements of nursing and medical staff when using the SAS scoring tool.

Uncovering study abroad: foreignness and its relevance to nurse education and cultural competence

This paper reports some of the findings from a hermeneutic phenomenological research project designed to uncover the nature of the phenomenon 'study abroad' in the context of Nursing Higher Education in the United Kingdom. The research question asked was 'How is study abroad manifest in the experience of nursing students?' Informed by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, the analysis of 26 study abroad students' diary accounts uncovered six general structures, or ways for study abroad to be, namely; leaving behind, escape, foreigner, self-discovery, learning and risk. The focus here is on the general structure 'foreigner' and the far-reaching implications this can have in terms of understanding how study abroad comes to be. The relationship between study abroad, positive disturbance and the development of students who are able to recognise diversity across different cultures is discussed. It is suggested that if one of the major aims of nurse higher education is the development of culturally competent practitioners, study abroad is deserving of far greater attention than is currently the case.