Abstract:

This paper will consider an initial evaluation of a planned work placement internship for a group of experienced nurses from the Gulf State studying in the United Kingdom (UK). The concept of work integrated learning is considered central and instrumental in developing and enhancing skills and knowledge and for examining issues surrounding cultural variance. An important aspect of the internship is exposure and reflecting on cultural differences and issues in nursing practice. It is of particular relevance to nursing as an applied science, as it is concerned with the integration of theory to practice.

A group of 16 nurses were sponsored to complete a post registration degree course in nursing studies. A key component of the course included a six month work internship. This is a planned programme to expose the students to a breadth of health and social care experience in the UK. This paper describes structuring the experience and the process of evaluating this experience for example; focus groups, questionnaire, structured reflection, one to one evaluative discussions, to enable the identification of key themes.

Overall the purpose of the evaluation was to discover the impact of the experience on their clinical practice, as they are expected to be change agents on their return to their home country. Furthermore a structured evaluation would provide feedback to individual service managers, educators and sponsors.

Keywords:

Theory to practice, work integrated learning, international nursing, cultural exposure, cultural variance.