An Online International Collaborative Learning Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Nursing Students: Mixed...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Global Health Competencies
• Distance Learning

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic necessitated exploring distance education in nursing programs.
• International collaborative learning offers complementary practical education.
• Web-based communication for international collaboration is expected to increase post-pandemic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of an online international collaborative learning program.
• To assess changes in prelicensure nursing students' international and global competencies.
• To evaluate program effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

Main Methods:

• Mixed methods study utilizing web-based surveys and focus group interviews.
• 15 prelicensure nursing students participated.
• Online program included 7 synchronous web-based sessions with US-based experts discussing nursing education and evidence-based practice.

Main Results:

• Participants reported enhanced global leadership competencies.
• Focus group analysis revealed improvements in realistic applicability, clarification, expanded perspectives, and initiative.
• Quantitative and qualitative data indicated positive outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Online international collaborative learning positively impacted students' international competencies.
• The study supports the continued development of web-based international exchange programs.
• Web-based collaboration is a viable model for nursing education in the post-pandemic era.