Global nursing service learning for short-term student experiences: Investigating the interpretation of healthcare needs as a predeterminent for site selection

Abstract

<p>As a response to the increased global demand of healthcare, global nursing service learning programs are growing within institutions of higher education. The rise and increase of these programs call for additional research into the practices being used to ensure culturally appropriate, realistic, and sustainable nursing care. The care, however, needs to remain within the nursing scope of practice while also meeting the expected needs of the host community. The purpose of this study is to begin the initial research of how sites from higher education institutions involving student nursing teams are selected, specifically looking at the understanding of the communities&rsquo; healthcare needs viewed from the lens of the Community Leader, a Field Worker and a (United States) licensed Healthcare Professional. Using Leininger&rsquo;s theory of cultural care diversity and universality guided by the conceptual framework combination of ethno-nursing and grounded theory methodology, a qualitative, exploratory study using surveys was done to further research in this area. By looking for congruencies, or lack thereof, between the three points of view, the study looked at whether there is an appropriate and realistic understanding of what the team can and cannot do while in country. A lack of congruency between the three would call for the need of a licensed Healthcare Professional to visit and assess the host site prior to sending a service learning nursing team.</p>