Preparation of undergraduate health and care students from the United Kingdom for an international learning experience in Japan: A phenomenological study.

BACKGROUND: Globalisation, economic migration and people seeking refugee status require cultural competence skills and knowledge to be embedded in undergraduate health and care programmes. International learning experiences can support the development of cultural competence skills. Students require preparation before undertaking international learning experiences to support adjustment to cultural differences. Inadequate preparation could have a negative impact on their ability to learn. Therefore, investigating concerns undergraduate health and care student experience prior to an international learning experience has the potential to enhance the preparation received. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the experiences of undergraduate health and care students from the United Kingdom prior to participating in an international cultural visit to Japan. DESIGN: A qualitative study using Interpretative phenomenological analysis. METHODS: The lived experience of 7 undergraduate health and care students were explored using reflective semi structured surveys. FINDINGS: The findings suggest that prior to the visit, undergraduate health and care students experienced a range of fears and anxieties. These were themed under the heading of "Barriers to Learning" and further sub themes of "Being a Stranger", "Cultural Differences and "Communication". CONCLUSION: Preparation for undergraduate health and care students undertaking international learning activities is required to enable them to adapt to the culture they are visiting as well as the culture of the group they are travelling with. Recommendations are made for preparing undergraduate health and students for this.

Experiences of service users involved in recruitment for nursing courses: A phenomenological research study.

The aim of this study was to gain insight into service users' experiences of participating in recruitment for Adult, Mental Health and Child nursing studies at the authors' university; to establish potential motivations behind such participation; and to make suggestions for improved future practice. The involvement of service users in nurse education and recruitment has for some years been required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, but there is a dearth of publications on the meaning of that involvement to participating service users. It is hoped that this study will contribute to this body of knowledge. A phenomenological approach was selected, field-specific focus groups of service users being facilitated using a semi-structured interview format; these were audio recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Participation was subject to the service users having been involved in recruitment to nursing studies at the authors' university and the focus groups took place either at the university or at the child participants' school. Themes identified demonstrated largely positive experiences and a sense of meaningful involvement for all concerned. Findings indicated a close link between the values of the participants and those of the wider NHS, benefits to a sense of wellbeing and achievement, as well as the need for greater ownership of the recruitment process by service users. Potential lessons for academics wishing to promote greater service user involvement in student recruitment are articulated.