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Nursing
education in the United States has undergone
tremendous changes in recent years. Those providing
care and teaching in schools of nursing are
better prepared educationally than ever before,
the science that underlies our practice is increasingly
being built through scholarly efforts of nurses,
and collaborative partnerships between nurses
and other health care workers continue to evolve.
In addition, the opportunities for nurses to
influence the health of people through their
roles as nurse practitioners, nurse midwives,
home care clinicians, managers and administrators,
health educators, acute and long term care clinicians,
and faculty are growing dramatically.
In order to prepare nurses for beginning and
advanced levels of practice, educational programs
also have undergone tremendous changes in recent
years. Many curricula are creative and interactive,
rather than rigid and proscriptive. Education
is more learner-focused than teacher-centered.
Clinical experiences for students reflect a
greater emphasis on community-based care, health
promotion, disease prevention, family involvement,
and self-care. And the integration of technology
and the use of distance learning strategies
are more evident in nursing education programs.
In educational programs there is an increased
emphasis on documenting program outcomes and
demonstrating that graduates do, indeed, have
the patient care, thinking, and communication
abilities needed to function in our complex,
constantly-changing, ambiguous, unpredictable,
chaotic health care arena. Finally, nurse educators
are realizing that there is an art and a science
to teaching nursing - just as
there is an art and a science to practicing
nursing - and they are seeking preparation in
curriculum development and evaluation, creative
teaching/learning strategies, student and program
evaluation, and other areas that complement
their clinical specialization and expertise.
What to Expect
In light of these changes, students coming to
the United States to study nursing should expect
to find graduate and undergraduate programs
that are challenging, innovative, and designed
to meet their individual needs as learners.
You should expect state-of-the-art practice
laboratories that will help you learn and enhance
comprehensive assessment skills, as well as
home care and technological skills. You should
expect to find library and computer resources
that will allow you to access unlimited resources,
be creative in teaching patients about managing
their own health, communicate with experts in
the field, and continually develop your own
knowledge base and scholarly abilities.
Students who study in the U.S. will be exposed
to patients/families from a vast array of cultural,
ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, and educational
backgrounds: homeless men who live on the streets
of Detroit or New York, the 12-year-old single
mother of Hispanic descent, the 6-year-old Hmong
child suffering from asthma, the Chinese scholar,
and the migrant worker with less than a high
school education, among others. Nursing students
- under the guidance of well-qualified faculty
-- have many opportunities to touch and be touched
by the lives of others who may be vastly different
from themselves. Such experiences with diverse
populations contribute to the students' understanding
of human beings, as well as to their ability
to provide culturally-sensitive care.
Factors to Consider
in Program Selection
As you consider coming to the United States
to study nursing at the undergraduate, master's,
or doctoral level, you need to look carefully
at a number of factors. Although this is not
intended to be a complete list, the following
things are important to consider when selecting
a program:
-
What courses in and outside
nursing are required of students in the
program? Will they help you build the knowledge
base you need to pursue your professional
career?
-
How much flexibility is
there in the program? Are there opportunities
to select courses that are of interest to
you? Are there opportunities to design individualized
learning experiences (e.g., clinical experiences,
the topic of a course paper, the case studies
you develop) that will meet your own needs?
-
What kinds of clinical experiences
are available for students? Will you be
able to work with diverse populations and
in a variety of settings (e.g., acute care
hospitals, home care agencies, hospice settings,
clinics, community health centers, etc.)?
What role do students have in selecting
their clinical experiences?
-
What are the qualifications
of the faculty? Are they all prepared at
the master's or doctoral level in nursing
(or in the nursing-related specialty they
teach, such as Pharmacology)? Are they clinically
competent? Are they scholars in their areas
of teaching? Are they leaders in the field?
-
What resources are available
to support students in the program? Are
the library, practice laboratories, and
computer centers comprehensive and current,
offering state-of-the-art technology and
adequate technological support?
-
What resources are available
to support international students in the
program? Are there special advisors for
international students … advisors
who are sensitive to the needs of students
studying abroad and able to help those students
become a part of the life of the program?
-
What are the relationships
like among students and between students
and faculty? Is there a "spirit" of learning
together? Do students have the opportunity
to work collaboratively on projects? Are
master's students able to work with faculty
on the faculty member's research? Do faculty
see themselves as learners as well as teachers?
-
What is the accreditation
status of the program? Has the program undergone
a comprehensive review by peers outside
the institution and been judged to meet
standards for academic programs that have
been set by the profession?
Studying Nursing
in the United States - Taking full advantage
of all that is available
Any student who comes to the United States
to study nursing also should plan to take
advantage of a wide range of professional
opportunities that are available at one's
college or university, in the local or regional
nursing community, and at the national level.
For example, attendance at special lectures
that may be given by national and international
nursing leaders should not be missed. Participation
in the school's chapter of the National Student
Nurses Association (for those studying at
the undergraduate level), or in the school's
chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International,
the Honor Society of Nursing, gives students
an opportunity to exert leadership roles,
interact with the field's leading scholars,
and participate in the political process to
influence positive change.
In addition, students interested in a clinical
career who attend an annual meeting of the
State Nurses Association or American Nurses
Association or a meeting of a specialty group
(e.g., critical care nurses or oncology nurses)
can witness how associations work and how
nurses influence policy formulation, as well
as learn the newest approaches to caring for
patients/families/communities. Students interested
in a career as a nurse manager or executive
should plan to attend local or national meetings
of the American Organization of Nurse Executives
to appreciate the kind of issues nurses in
such positions must address (e.g., staffing,
workforce development, fiscal management)
and new approaches to dealing with such issues.
Finally, students interested in a career
as a nurse educator should plan to attend
the National League for Nursing's Education
Summit, where they will have the opportunity
to interact with nurse educators from a variety
of programs as they explore new approaches
to teaching/learning, the research that underlies
nursing education, and innovative curriculum/program
designs. These types of "extra-curricular"
experiences serve to enhance the learning
of all students, but may be of particular
interest to international students who are
able to compare the issues discussed with
those that exist in their own home countries
and analyze the proposed solutions for their
relevance "at home."
Summary
As nursing and nursing education in the U.S.
continue to develop in exciting ways, the
opportunities for international students are
unlimited. American students and faculty realize
how much they have to offer to students from
other countries, but - perhaps more importantly-
they also realize how much they can learn
from students whose homes lie outside the
borders of the United States.
Within a higher education context that is
increasingly learner-centered and that emphasizes
mutual, collaborative learning, the U.S. provides
an incredibly rich environment for students
and faculty from all types of backgrounds
to study and learn together. Just as interaction
with patients/families of diverse backgrounds
enhances the lives of nurses in practice,
interaction with fellow students from diverse
background enhances the lives of nursing students
and faculty.
This is an exciting time for nursing and nursing
education. Students who come to the United
States to study nursing will be challenged,
involved, excited, and helped to meet their
personal and professional goals. Hopefully,
YOU will be among those students who take
advantage of this opportunity!
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