Being an international nursing student in Turkey: A qualitative study

"A different country, a different language, a different culture…" Educational experiences of international nursing students studying in Turkey: A qualitative study

AIM

This study was aimed at investigating the educational experiences of international nursing students in Turkey.

BACKGROUND

Nursing education has now gained an international dimension, which creates an environment where students from different cultures come together. In Turkey, nursing education is expanding internationally due to the increasing number of international students.

DESIGN

A descriptive- phenomenological qualitative study.

METHODS

The study data were collected from nursing students who came to Turkey from 17 different countries between April 2023 and July 2023 to study at a nursing faculty in Turkey using a semi-structured interview form. Of these students, 27 constituted the study sample. The data collected were analyzed using the content analysis. The COREQ checklist was used in reporting the study.

RESULTS

Four themes emerged: a) challenges, b) gains, c) support needs and d) recommendations. Among challenges reported by the participating students were language barriers, cultural adjustment issues and lack of social support. As for the gains of being a foreign student, they stated that they experienced intercultural interaction and improved their language skills, independence and self-confidence. In the study, the need for language support, provision of psychological assistance and cultural adaptation support for these students and the importance of practical recommendations such as mentoring programs and orientation trainings to improve their educational experience were emphasized.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, in this study, the importance of targeted strategies in nursing education in areas such as language support, psychological assistance and cultural adaptation was emphasized, which helps international students to have a successful educational experience. It was also concluded that mentoring programs and orientation trainings could enrich the educational processes of students by facilitating their adaptation to their new environment. This study is notable in the literature in that students from 17 diverse countries share the same program and the same prerequisites.

Nurse educators' views of integrating culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses into healthcare settings: A qualitative descriptive study

AIM

To describe nurse educators' views of how culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses are integrated into healthcare settings.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive design was adopted.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 20 nurse educators were recruited from three higher education institutions in Finland.

METHODS

Participants were recruited in the spring of 2021 through snowball sampling. Individual semi-structured interviews were held and recorded. The collected data were analysed using inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

The performed content analysis identified a total of 534 meaning units from the data, which were categorized into 343 open codes and 29 sub-categories. Furthermore, nine categories were identified and categorized into three main categories. The first main category was pre-graduation and represented a time point during which educators experienced early integration, nurse educator support and cooperation with stakeholders. The second main category was integration strategies into healthcare settings, which included workplace strategies, language competence and individual competencies and attributes. The third main category was the post-graduation experience, during which educators reported organizational readiness, migration and efficacy of the integrational model.

CONCLUSIONS

The results revealed a need for increased resources linked to how nurse educators support the integration of culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses. Moreover, a nurse educator's presence during the last clinical placement, early transition and integration was found to exert a significant effect on the smooth integration of culturally and linguistically diverse future nurses.

IMPACT

This study establishes the need to enhance stakeholder cooperation between universities and other organizations towards supporting the integration process. Maximizing nurse educators' support during the final clinical practice, early transition and post-graduation allows for successful integration and intention to stay.

REPORTING METHOD

This study was reported according to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR).

PATIENT OR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Participating educators shared their experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse future nurses' integration.

Determining the core competencies for international postgraduate nursing students in internship programs: A delphi study

AIM

To determine the core competencies of clinical internships for international postgraduate nursing students undertaking a two-year professional program in China.

BACKGROUND

Clinical internship is an important part of nursing education and is the cornerstone for the future training of nursing professionals. However, in terms of providing a basis for the training and assessment of international postgraduate nursing students undertaking a two-year professional program in China, their core competencies of clinical internships have not yet been sufficiently determined.

METHODS

Focus group interviews and a two-round Delphi method were conducted. The preliminary list of core competencies was determined based on a scoping review and focus group interviews. Subsequently, experts provided suggestions for modifications to the core competencies in two rounds of the Delphi survey. The response rate (RR), composite reliability (Cr), coefficient of variation and Kendall coefficient of indices were calculated.

RESULTS

Twenty experts completed two rounds of Delphi expert consultation and reached consensus on five first-level indices and 13 s-level indices with 27 connotations. The RR values for the two rounds of consultation were 100 %, the Cr values were 0.853 and 0.873 and the Kendall coordination coefficients were 0.134-0.250 (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The core competencies identified in this research can provide a basis for further training international postgraduate nursing students undertaking a two-year professional program in China through internship programs. This research also provides a reference for effectively evaluating and improving clinical programs.

Facilitators and barriers of African postgraduate nursing students' adaptation to internship: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Clinical internship is a focused and supervised practice where nursing students have opportunities to master clinical skills and better adapt to the real working environment, promoting the formation of professional practice quality. However, for African postgraduate nursing students who had an internship in China, the factors affecting their adaptation to the internship have not yet been sufficiently explored.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the facilitators and barriers of African postgraduate nursing students' adaptation to an internship.

DESIGN

Qualitative descriptive study.

SETTINGS

A comprehensive university with three affiliated hospitals in southern China.

PARTICIPANTS

Twelve African postgraduate nursing students who finished a three-month internship in the two-year postgraduate programme.

METHODS

Participants were recruited using purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and December 2021. Data were thematically analysed using the Colaizzi seven-step method.

RESULTS

Three facilitators and four barriers to their adaptation to the internship emerged in the study. Facilitators included the teacher-student interactions, harmonious working atmosphere and positive inner incentives of the students. Barriers to adaptation were language barriers, unsuitable internship arrangements, lack of opportunities to practice clinical skills and disparities in hospital routine works.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings could contribute to the improvement of a more effective clinical training programme. Nursing colleges and teaching hospitals should make more efforts to enhance the current clinical internship programmes. Further support is necessary for international nursing students according to their culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Nursing students' classroom climate perceptions: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

As a versatile and dynamic process, classroom climate directly affects the learning levels of students and their quality of life while in school.

OBJECTIVES

The study was conducted to explore and compare nursing students' perceptions of classroom climate throughout four years of university education and to evaluate the influencing factors.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS

The longitudinal study was conducted between 2017 and 2020 in the nursing department of a university in Turkey.

PARTICIPANTS

The study was carried out with 134 nursing students who enrolled in their first year and agreed to participate in the study.

METHODS

The data were collected at the end of the fall semester of each of the four years using the Student Information Form and the Classroom Climate Inventory.

RESULTS

The mean score of students' perceptions of classroom climate was 2.88 ± 0.83 for all academic years. The classroom climate inventory mean scores of fourth-year students were statistically significantly higher than their scores in the first and third years (p = 0.000). The students' classroom climate levels were statistically significantly affected by the positive classroom communication among students in all academic years in a positive direction. Statistically significant effective factors in students' classroom climate perceptions by year were as follows: the sense of belongingness to the class in the second and third years (although significantly lower in the first year), socio-cultural activities organized at school the second and fourth years (p < 0.05), instructors' attitudes supporting classroom communication in the first year, and opportunities supporting communication in the school environment in the fourth year (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Students' perception of the classroom climate was moderate overall and affected by positive classroom communication among students in all academic years. School administrators and educators can develop strategies and organize activities to increase positive communication in the classroom.