Liisa Koskinen, Pirkko Jokinen, Donna Blackburn, MaryJo Gilmer, Joan McGill
The global shortage of nurses has increased overseas recruitment of registered nurses,and the increasingly multicultural healthcare workforce has become a challenge for professional nurse training in both the European Community and the US. The aim of this study was to describe the factors considered important in learning intercultural competence, by Finnish and American exchange students who participated in a transatlantic education project. The three-year project focused on the challenge of the increasingly global nature of the nursing workforce. Altogether 16 students from both countries participated in the exchange project. The data were collected by analysing essays written by the students in the host country before returning home. Miles and Huberman’s method for qualitative data was applied. The foundation for learning intercultural competence consisted of four components: students’ preparation for the exchange,stude nts’ personal resiliency,students’ previous experiences and the curricular status of intercultural studies. The process of learning intercultural competence included three components: students’ maturation process, students’ reflection process and important relationships during the intercultural experience. As a conclusion,it can be stated that an international education project in nursing offers a good opportunity for multicultural healthcare workforces to gain intercultural competence.
