Summers of no return: transforming care through a nursing field school

Nursing education is developing a wide variety of ways to educate for cultural competence that expedites culture-congruent care and effective diversity management in practice. Using a praxis orientation, this article reports research done on an innovative nursing field school during the past four summers on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Learning context emphasizing formation of a collaborative, caring community is created for 6-week immersion learning experiences during which student groups work with the High Plains Oglala Lakota in tribal programs. Triangulated data based on participant observation and student journals, stories, discussions, interviews, academic coursework, and evaluation surveys provide a comprehensive record of complex and multifaceted field school and immersion learning processes. Through collaboration with students, Diekelmann's "Concernful Practices" are tested and adapted for fit as a framework for organizing and examining the field school experience, as well as the practice of health care across cultures.