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Current State of International Clinical Experiences in US Prelicensure Nursing Programs
Tamara McKinnon1, Angela M McNelis, Kathleen de Leon
1About the Authors Tamara McKinnon, DNP, RN, APHN, is a professor and director, ALIGHT Program, Cabrillo College, Aptos, California. Angela M. McNelis, PhD, RN, ANEF, CNE, FAAN, is a professor and associate dean for scholarship, innovation, and clinical science, George Washington University School of Nursing, Washington, DC. Kathleen de Leon, MS, RN, is a health policy nursing doctoral student, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Malinda Whitlow, DNP, FNP-BC, RN, is an assistant professor and director, ABSN Program, George Washington University School of Nursing. Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, is Elizabeth Brooks Ford Professor of Nursing, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, and editor of Nursing Education Perspectives. Drs. McKinnon and McNelis are co-guest editors for this special issue of Nursing Education Perspectives. None of the authors participated in review or decisions for this article. This research was supported by Grant RB1005 from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, awarded to Dr. McKinnon. For more information, contact Kathleen de Leon at kathleen.deleon@ucsf.edu.
Aim:
The study purpose was to describe current international clinical experience (ICE) practices in RN prelicensure programs in the United States.
Background:
There is interest in ICE to fulfill the goal of preparing global citizens; however, lack of evidence on developing, implementing, and evaluating best practices for ICE limits the enactment of this approach.
Method:
An electronic survey was completed by 900 deans and/or directors of diploma, associate, bachelor's, accelerated bachelor's, and master's-entry RN prelicensure programs.
Results:
Respondents (n = 241, 27 percent) indicated their programs included ICE. Across programs, ICE occurred most often in community health courses. The predominant reason for offering ICE was alignment with the institutional mission and vision.
Conclusion:
Wide variability exists in methods used to implement ICE for credit toward the nursing major. There is a need to continue to assess and disseminate best practices in implementing ICE to accomplish the goal of global health engagement.
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