A collaborative international community health nursing: Clinical experience in China

With increasing changes in the demographic characteristics of the U.S. population, providing culturally competent health care to patients has become an important component of nursing. Study abroad experiences can enhance students' international perspective, facilitate personal and professional growth, develop cultural competence skills, and help students better understand other cultures and global issues. This article describes University of North Carolina at Greensboro nursing students' clinical and cultural experiences with Wuhan University, Hope School of Nursing, in China. The international community health nursing experience in China provided students with opportunities to become immersed in Chinese culture, examine the health care system in China, and see the Chinese people and the world from a different perspective. Clinical experiences for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro nursing students included community assessments, home visits, Western and traditional Chinese medicine hospital visits, a health fair, and a health education program presented to community residents in Wuhan. Through their experiences, students learned how to appreciate and respect a culture that is different from their own and enhanced their skills in providing culturally competent care to diverse populations in the United States.