scholarly journals Undergraduate Nursing Students' Experience of Northern Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Le Roux B.H.Sc., B.Sc.N., RN ◽  
Rachelle Breen, B.H.Sc., B.Sc.N, CIC, RN ◽  
Joanne Carbonneau RN B.Sc.N., M.Ed.

Undergraduate nursing programs are moving towards a service learning model in teaching nursing student cultural awareness. In this article, we discuss the nursing student experience in a university elective which immerses students in rural and remote Indigenous communities resulting in cultural consciousness. This service learning experience that students encountered promoted growth in nursing praxis, and fostered positive curriculum growth and community partnerships between the College and the Indigenous communities in which they visited. Students gained cultural consciousness and increased awareness, which is beneficial in their future nursing careers as they grow into better culturally competent care providers. Also discussed is the history and background of these Indigenous communities, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the First Nations Principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access and possession). These topics are discussed in detail throughout the student experience as they respond to nurses’ professional standards, development of cultural competency and integrating calls to action in truth and reconciliation.

Author(s):  
Lynn Van Hofwegen ◽  
Sheryl Kirkham ◽  
Catherine Harwood

Nursing in rural communities offers opportunities for independent nursing practice and community participation. However, recruitment of nurses to rural settings can be difficult. In response to this challenge and the rising demand within nursing education for community clinical placements, intensive, short-term, rural community clinical placements are being developed by urban universities. As yet, little research has examined the use of these placements for undergraduate nursing education. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the experiences of students, registered nurse mentors, and clinical instructors in rural health clinical placements, as part of a larger study examining alternative clinical placements. Through use of the interpretive descriptive method, the perspectives of participants were elicited from focus groups and interviews. The paradox of nursing student placements in rural health is that limitations of the rural site became the impetus for nursing student learning and partnership. An implication is that service learning partnerships be pursued for mutual benefit of students, communities, and rural nurses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
Sabina Ličen ◽  
Igor Karnjuš ◽  
Mirko Prosen

Background: Measurements of nursing students’ cultural awareness are needed to evaluate education that intends to improve nurses’ cultural competency skills. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of cultural awareness held by undergraduate nursing students. Method: A nonexperimental, cross-sectional design was applied to a purposive sample of 149 undergraduate nursing students. Data were collected based on the Cultural Awareness Scale (CAS). Results: The results show that the nursing students had a moderately high level of cultural awareness for all CAS subscales ( M = 194.0). However, no statistically significant differences were seen between the students’ demographic (gender and age) and other data (year of study and religion) related to the overall CAS score ( p > .05). Discussion: Building on the satisfactory results obtained from this study, in the future, both the transcultural nursing contents as well as various strategies for teaching cultural competencies should be carefully evaluated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 9-9
Author(s):  
Margaret Avallone ◽  
Staci Pacetti

Abstract The Age-Friendly 4Ms Framework (IHI/Hartford Foundation) was used to redesign an existing undergraduate nursing community experience, teaching students how to evaluate what matters to the individual, medications, mentation, and mobility. As part of the NJ Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (NJGWEP), a 5-year grant supported by DHHS-HRSA, ten senior nursing students joined a team of bilingual social workers, APNs, and a PharmD in an affordable housing urban highrise. This paper will describe the implementation and evaluation of a redesigned clinical experience using the 4Ms framework. Students visited older residents with bilingual social workers, performed health assessments and developed person-centered plans of care. Students presented resident cases during weekly interprofessional conferences to promote team collaboration and planning. Residents who screened positive for dementia were referred to an interprofessional Memory Assessment Program. Medications were reviewed using the Beers criteria, reconciled, and referred to primary care providers if appropriate. Fall risk was assessed and managed using the STEADI toolkit (CDC). Students were evaluated on attainment of geriatric-specific competencies, including medication review, cognition and depression screening, and fall risk assessments, by direct observations and interview. Following the semester-long experience, students completed a retrospective pretest/posttest survey to evaluate achievement of objectives based on the 4Ms. Mean scores for achievement of learning objectives ranged from 4.7-4.9 on a Likert scale of 1-5. Students identified barriers that older diverse individuals face when managing chronic health problems in the community. Students also valued the partnership with the social workers, stating, “We learned from each other.”


Author(s):  
Gloria Onosu

This study focused on understanding the cultural immersion experience of students who participated in Study Abroad Programs (SAP) and Global Service Learning Programs (GSL). The study looked at how the immersion experience impacted the participants’ view of self and others upon re-entry into their local community. Specifically, we applied the perspective transformation theoretical framework to analyze the extent to which participation in cultural immersion programs transforms students’ perceptions of self and others. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews suggested that by engaging in intentional immersion and guided reflections, participants became aware of the need to reevaluate their perspectives, expectations, and assumptions about self and others. We also found that there were differences in the way participants experienced the cultural immersion process and the impact it had on cultural awareness and self-identity.


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