East meets West: The partnership experience with overseas/local students in their workplace

1. East meets West: The partnership experience with overseas/local students in their workplace Ms Sharon Cheung & Ms Sandra Pun School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2. Exchange Programme/Overseas Clinical Placement The programme was introduced by the School of Nursing from 1998 with increasing no. of students recruited

3. Aims of student exchange/overseas clinical placement • Provide exposure to overseas nursing experience • Enrich the clinical experience through participation in the patient care and observation from delivered care • Develop understanding of overseas health care system • Further develop students’ ability to communicate with people of other culture and ethnic groups • Acquire an understanding of the trend and development of health care services in that country • Gain professional and life experience in a different culture.

4. Exchange programme • Aims: • provide opportunity for students to enhance cultural and knowledge exchange during overseas studying/placement • offered the exposure to a global dimension to student’s university life and personal or professional development • Development on three aspects: • Enhance intellectual development • increased global understanding • Enhance personal development (Thompson, Boore & Deeny, 2000)

5. Background of the study • Past studies highlighted- • Positive aspects of the learning experience • Personal growth of exchange students (Grant & Mchenna, 2003) • Few of them described- • Clinical practice experience • Problems encountered by students with exchange placement among western countries. • Explore the difficulties that students might encounter • Strategies students used to deal with the encountered problems during placement • None of these studies explored- • the exchange experience of nursing students between the Western and Asian countries in their workplace

6. Aims of the study • Understand the actual learning process • Understand the exchange experience of nursing students from these countries. • Allows the local nursing students to share their partnership experience with overseas students • Explore the mentorship experience of local mentors with both inbound and local students • Students who would like to join the programme will be better informed and prepared for their exchange

7. Objectives • To understand the expectations and objectives of exchange students prior to their departure • To explore the learning experiences of exchange students (including inbound, outbound & local students) • To identify any difficulties that the exchange students might encounter during the exchange programme and explore their strategies to overcome these difficulties • To explore students’ post experience reflection on the exchange programme • To describe the partnership experience of local/overseas students during their clinical placement • To identify effective teaching strategies and the benefits of the exchange programme from local mentors’ perspective

8. Design of the study A descriptive/exploratory approach: • Investigate the experience of students & mentors participated in the overseas exchange programme A phenomenological approach: • to explore the lived experience • gives meaning to each person’s perception of a particular phenomenon (Polit, Beck & Hungler, 2001) Main sources of data: • The in-depth conversations from the researcher and informant as the full co-participant. • The informants was asked to describe their lived experiences without leading the discussion

9. Sample recruitment • Subjects in this study: • Students and local mentors who had undertaken/partnership experience with the exchange programme at the School of Nursing, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in academic year 2004 & 2005 (Both inbound and outbound exchange)

10. Data Collection • Ethnical approval was obtained prior to study • An information sheet and consent form was given to the • selected participants for their consent to participate in the study • Methods to collect data: • Group interviews and/or individual interviews (A semi-structured questionnaire was used as an interview guide) • Students’ learning objectives prior to their departure of home country • Reflective journal during overseas placement & their expectations of the programme • Post-experience reflective journal upon completion of programme • Remarks: Callister (cited in Grant & McKenne, 2002) highlighted the benefit of journal writing - can allow students to release their emotions and feelings about clinical experience.

11. Data Analysis • By categorization scheme: • Classify and index the materials in order to facilitate further retrieval and review. • Collected data was transcribed into word processing document • The data further converted into smaller and manageable units • Coding schemes was used with clear named category • Researchers meetings: • Review the contents of the narrative data. • Results of data analysis were sent back to participants for clarification and ensuring accuracy

12. Framework for data analysis • Before the start of exchange Learning objectives Students’ preparation Students’ feeling about the exchange programme • After completion of exchange programme Professional development Difficulties encountered Strategies used to overcome these difficulties • Partnership experience with local students & supervisors • Recommendations from students and supervisors • Mentorship experience of local supervisors

13. Learning objectives for exchange clinical placement

14. Preparation before exchange

15. Feelings before exchange

16. Professional development after the completion of exchange program

17. Personal development after completion of exchange program

18. Difficulties encountered during placement

19. Strategies to overcome difficulties encountered

20. Comments from students

21. Comments on arrangement of the exchange programme

22. Recommendations to student who would like to join the exchange programme

23. Comments on mentorship

24. Partnership experience from mentors’ perspectives

25. Focus group interview of mentors • To explore & identify: • Mentors’ role and teaching experience • Professional and personal development of both inbound and local students as perceived by mentors • Feedback on how to improve the exchange programme

26. Results- main themes • Role of mentors: • communicators, facilitators, supervisors, resource persons • Teaching experience: • All mentors felt challenging with positive attitude towards supervising inbound and local students in a group • All mentors addressed the importance of understanding the differences between overseas and local practices, extra effort was put into helping inbound students understand & learn about local practice

27. PPD of Students (from mentors’ perspective)

28. Feedback on how to improve the programme • Provide more background information of inbound students to mentors before starting the placement (e.g. course outline, clinical experience) • Suggest mentors (supervising inbound students) to share their teaching experience with colleagues who may have chances to supervise inbound students • Allocate inbound students to mentors with overseas experience or experience of supervising overseas students • Suggest the ratio of inbound to local student as 1:5 or 2:4 and not more than 6 students /clinical group • Would be better to allocate inbound students to clinical group with less AT/AOM assessment • Similar year of study for inbound & local students

29. Evaluation of the programme (aims achieved) • Provide exposure to overseas nursing experience • Enrich the clinical experience through participation in the patient care and observation from delivered care • Develop understanding of overseas health care system • Further develop students’ ability to communicate with people of other culture and ethnic groups • Acquire an understanding of the trend and development of health care services in that country • Gain professional and life experience in a different culture.

30. Inbound exchange students from Huddersfield University (UK)

31. Inbound exchange students from Victoria University (Australia)

32. Acknowledgement • This study is funded by SLTC of SN at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University • Special thanks to overseas and local students, and local supervisors for their sharing of experience

33. Thank You!

34. References Grant, E., & Mckenna, L. (2003). International clinical placement for undergraduate students. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 12(4), 529-535. Polit, D.F., Beck, C.T., & Hungler, B.P. (2001). Essentials of Nursing Research: Methods, Appraisal, and Utilization (5th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippinocott. Thompson, K., Boore, J., & Deeny, P. (2000). A comparison of an international experience for nursing students in developed and developing countries. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 37, 481-492.