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Learning Objective 1: relate the lived experience of USA graduate students in Australia.
Learning Objective 2: describe the basic steps of interpretive phenomenology using van Manen's methodology.
Clinical Practice for Public Health Students: The Lived Experience of USA Nurses in Australia
A clinical course for graduate nursing students from the USA travel to Australia to explore public health concepts from a global perspective. In Australia, the students expand their knowledge of health promotion, disease prevention and environmental health from local experts. The economics and policies of aggregates are also explored in this arena.
Travel for clinical experience and exposure to other cultures is not unique. The faculty of one northeastern US University wonders about the value of such travel as part of advanced nursing education. A review of the literature yielded a dearth of research and several anecdotal journal articles about nursing students traveling. Only a few attempt to measure the usefulness of the experience. In order to learn more about what is like for the students and to begin to explore the outcomes; a qualitative study is performed using hermeneutic phenomenology.
Heidegger’s interpretive phenomenology as a philosophy and method allows researchers to interpret and understand the lived experience through the lens of the participants under study. Ten graduate students who have traveled to Australia from this University for their clinical practicum were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. Themes emerged that allow us to understand their experience using van Manen’s holistic approach. Keeping true to the methodology of van Manen, the participants also shared photo essays that provide a rich presentation of the data to the poster of the research report.
The outcome of the research will provide an understanding and interpretation of the lived experience for the students. The value of the travel will become known through the lens of the participants. Globally the gain for nursing may be more than we can imagine. We anticipate channels of nursing camaraderie and a broader vision.