This multinational research seeks to describe an innovative and creative study abroad program’s effect on nursing students' and other health professions students’ learning healthcare ethics.
Methods: The study abroad program and course is novel because it will be offered to nursing students and other health professions students from two different countries. Further adding to the innovation, the faculty will also be from two different countries. Finally, the ethics course will be taught in a classroom located in yet a third country, neutral to the students and faculty. It is thought that the opportunity to learn with students from another country, from a faculty member from another country, while being physically located in yet a third country, will enhance students’ understanding of ethics and global healthcare needs. This is an international collaboration from both a teaching and research perspective, as it was organized jointly by the multinational (indeed, multi-continental) universities. Participants will be undergraduate nursing and health professions students from two different countries who are, together, taking a healthcare ethics course taught over a two week period of time in January of 2018. Emphasis will be placed on healthcare ethics, the ethical obligation of nurses and other health professionals to embrace their role within a global healthcare community, healthcare systems in different countries, and the need embrace a role as a nursing healthcare professional in a global environment.
Data Collection: Students are customarily asked to fill out a course evaluation forms at the end of each and every course that they take. Filling out the evaluation is completely voluntary and completely anonymous, and these course evaluations will be completed after the course ends on January 13, 2018. From the course evaluations, data regarding the following will be studied as to the multinational education experience’s effect on:
(a) learning multiple countries’ approaches to healthcare ethics;
(b) understanding healthcare systems and global health needs;
(c) influencing students to consider working in areas of global healthcare ethics and needs in the future;
(d) understanding the course objectives.
Results: The study is a work in progress, and there are no results at this time. However, the anticipated study outcome is the identification of factors that guide a student to have a study abroad experience that enhances their understanding of global approaches to healthcare ethics, ethical obligations to global healthcare needs, and the healthcare systems of multiple countries.
The data that is collected from the course evaluation forms will be analyzed to determine if the nursing and other healthcare professions students believed the multinational program influenced the educational experience. Participation in course evaluation is completely voluntary, all data will be de-identified, and the students’ privacy will be protected. The outcomes that will be measured will be based on a Likert scale. As is generally recommend, the Likert scale results will be analyzed using a 2-sample t test.
Conclusion: The study is a work in progress, and there are no results at this time. However, results will be significant to determine best practices for teaching nursing and other healthcare professions’ student health care ethics and other aspects of global healthcare via a study abroad experience.