Motivation and international clinical placements: shifting nursing students to a global citizenship perspective

Nursing programs are increasingly offering international clinical experiences as part of nursing curricula. The purpose of this study was to understand what motivates student nurses to take part in these experiences. Related to motivation, student awareness of emerging nursing discourses on global citizenship was also examined. As part of a qualitative study, nine undergraduate nursing students were interviewed about their motivations for choosing a clinical placement to a low-income country. While students appeared to have a sincere desire to make a difference, closer examination of the data revealed that the majority approached their international clinical placement in ways that could be construed as paternalistic to some degree, rather than reflective of broader professional imperatives such as social justice. This finding suggests that additional education preparation may be needed prior to these experiences; global citizenship frameworks may be helpful in shifting perspectives towards a more critical enquiry of global issues.