International education: developing site visit guidelines to enhance understanding

International educational activities, whether organized as study tours or conferences, often include visits to various health care or educational facilities. These visits can provide a unique perspective on health care delivery, nursing education, and nursing practice. To maximize learning during such visits, a clear focus and guidelines are needed. The experience of conducting a conference in Russia is used as a basis for developing recommendations and creating guidelines for site visits that promote understanding of the nursing role and the health care system in another country. This article describes the process of developing educational objectives and guidelines for clinical and educational site visits. It is hoped the examples will be useful in planning site visits for other international educational activities.