Circumnavigating the Globe without Leaving Home: Creative and Effective Educational Strategies to Enhance International Awareness

Tuesday, 13 July 2010: 1:45 PM

Lee-Ellen Kirkhorn, PhD, RN
Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI

Learning Objective 1: Apply strategies for effectively teaching global health issues.

Learning Objective 2: Create an engaged learning community using current technologies.

While nurse educators seek to include global health content in their courses, there is a dearth of evidence about effective strategies that best prepare students to obtain global awareness and international perspectives for clinical practice.

At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire College of Nursing and Health Sciences, several successful strategies have been effectively used with university honors students and nursing students in undergraduate Global Health Issues courses. Due to the location of the university (relatively close to major medical centers with an international clientele), learning about global health is especially relevant.

The presentation will emphasize examples from current and classic literature, showcase the use of film, technology (Desire to Learn learning platform), learning communities, and examples of evaluative data that underscore the success of Global Health Issues. Course syllabi, sample textbooks, and other pedagogical tools will be shared with conference attendees.