International collaborations were developed over a period of a year. The World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Nursing (WHOCC) and the Sparkman Center for Global Health at UAB supported the initiatives. To date, two students have participated in these experiences, one studying self-concept and emotional indicators in children in Kenya with HIV/AIDS and another studying the motivations and risk for burnout of nurses in Honduras.

The processes of collaboration included deliberate stages. Students engaged with international mentors through the following: 1) sharing of ideas from literature documenting cross-cultural concerns, 2) developing relationships by e-mail, 3) developing research in honors seminars, 4) utilizing instruments with universally recognized applicability, 5) partnering with sponsors to provide the international experience, 6) implementing on-site project, 6) consulting with mentors to report results, and 7) disseminating results to international forums. 

 The Honors in Nursing Program has served as a vehicle for nurturing students through the journey from novice to emerging leader. Nowhere is this more evident than in the opportunities for international collaboration. Through the processes of collaborative research, students begin to receive, attend and respond to ideas common to nurses globally. These mark the first stage of professional development in the affective domain. As students develop plans with colleagues, they realize their common interests and goals, the second stage of affective professional development of valuing. Finally, through dissemination they reach the highest level, that of organization and characterization by the values of the profession. The transition from novice to newly emerging leader has been facilitated by the international experiences supporting an independently created work of global scholarship in nursing.