| Learning Objective #1: Learn that an international exchange program can be a means for transcultural learning | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify perceptions of American culture and nursing by Taiwanese graduate nursing students |
Objectives: This study examined Taiwanese graduate nursing students' transcultural experiences in the United States during an international exchange program.
Design: A qualitative method was used to analyze journal entries written by participants.
Participants: Nine graduate nursing students from Taiwan participated in the study while they joined in an international exchange program of two weeks hosted by Indiana University at Kokomo. The mean age was 32 years, ranging from 29 to 45.
Methods: Participants involved in cultural and professional activities during the exchange program, including staying overnight with an American family, going to church services and outdoor concerts, shadowing with nurses in community hospitals, discussing nursing issues with faculty, visiting medical centers and community clinics.
Each student recorded daily in a journal about perceptions of American culture, perceptions of American nursing, and reflections on personal and professional growth.
Content analysis was then used to analyze journal entries for common themes.
Findings: Themes related to perceptions of American culture included American culture values humanity and is full of hospitality and patriotism, and Americans openly and directly express affection toward others. Taiwanese students perceived American nursing as a combination of independence, confidence, autonomy, and knowledge. They felt the core of American nursing is caring and American nursing is fostered by an environment conducive to patient care. In personal and professional growth, three themes were surfaced: reinforcement of holistic care, nursing without borders, and keep on learning and changing.
Conclusions: American culture and nursing were perceived by Taiwanese students as a paradigm of Western culture valuing individual rights, autonomy, and independence. Caring and supportive patient care environment were positive perceptions of American nursing; they were, however, the desired practice standards that were lacking in these students' homeland. Overall, the exchange program was thought by these students to foster their personal and professional growth.
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