Rediscovering the essence of nursing: Exploring the impact of in clinical experience in Thailand for undergraduate nursing students from Australia Kerry Reid-Searl a,1 , Trudy Dwyer b,2 , Lorna Moxham c,3 , Brenda Happell d, ⁎, Teresa Sander e,4 a School of Nursing and Midwifery, Institute for Health and Social Science Research, CQUniversity Australia, Bruce Highway, Rockhampton, 4702, Queensland, Australia b School of Nursing and Midwifery, and Institute for Health and Social Science Research, CQUniversity, Australia c Dean of Research and Research Training, and Institute for Health and Social Science Research, CQUniversity Australia, Bruce Highway, Rockhampton, 4702, Queensland, Australia d Institute for Health and Social Science Research, and Contemporary Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, CQUniversity Australia, Bruce Hwy, Rockhampton, Queensland, 4702, Australia e School of Nursing and Midwifery, CQUniversity Australia, Bundaberg campus, Australia summary article info Article history: Accepted 27 December 2010 Keywords: Caring Cultural competence Group dynamics Nursing education Nursing students Cultural competence is now widely recognised as an essential characteristic for undergraduate nursing students. Clinical experience in foreign countries has become increasingly popular as a strategy to enhance cultural awareness and competence. However, published research articulating the experience and outcomes of these initiatives is relatively rare, particularly from an Australian perspective. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative, exploratory research project. Individual semi-structure interviews were conducted with eight undergraduate nursing students before, during and at the conclusion of a four week clinical placement in Surin, Thailand. Data analysis identified the following major themes: first interview – anticipation; second interview – making a difference; contrasting worlds; and part of the group; third interview — reality check and group dynamics. These findings suggest that international clinical experience has potential benefits beyond the development of cultural competence. The importance of caring in nursing and the importance of group dynamics were particularly valued by student participants. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Clinical experience is an important component of undergraduate nursing education, as it facilitates the opportunity for students to acquire practical skills and knowledge in real life contexts (Field, 2004). This assists students to develop sound clinical reasoning abilities (Byrnes and West, 2000). An Australian Government report (Australian Government, Department of Education, Science and Training, 2002) noted that while it is important for nursing students to practice skills in university laboratories, experience gained from the health care settings is pivotal. Not only does clinical experience contribute to the development of competent practice, it enhances students' socialization into the nursing profession. Active participation in the functions and activities of nursing helps students to acquire the cultural values and norms of the wider nursing profession (Randle, 2003; Tiwari et al., 2005). It enables students not only to do nursing, but to become a nurse (Levett-Jones and Bourgeois, 2007; Tiwari et al., 2005). Cultural competence is now considered an essential component for undergraduate nursing programs in Australia (Caffrey et al., 2005; Jirwe et al., 2006; Momeni et al., 2008; Pinikahana et al., 2003). Recognising that the importance of cultural issues in health, the Australian Government through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has identified the need to increase cultural competency in health as a matter of priority (NHMRC, 2005). A nurse who is culturally competent can communicate sensitively and effectively with people who have different languages, cultures, religions, genders, ethnicities, disabilities, ages and sexualities (New South Wales Department of Health, 2010). Paying heed to this, undergraduate nursing students need to develop a broad repertoire of skills, knowledge, attitudes, perspectives and practices which they can use to enhance their cultural competence and therefore positively influence the therapeutic relationships they have with their clients. Clients who feel that their concerns have not been understood, dismissed or ignored, or who have not received optimum services because of their cultural background will find it hard to develop a sense of trust in a practitioner or a service (NSW Health Department, 2010). Assisting nursing students to develop their cultural compe- tence increases their capacity to more effectively interact with professional colleagues in a more sensitive and supportive manner. Nurse Education Today 31 (2011) 892–897 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 61 7 49306971; fax: + 61 7 49309871. E-mail addresses: k.reid-searl@cqu.edu.au (K. Reid-Searl), t.dwyer@cqu.edu.au (T. Dwyer), l.moxham@cqu.edu.au (L. Moxham), b.happell@cqu.edu.au (B. Happell), t.sander@cqu.edu.au (T. Sander). 1 Tel.: +61 7 49309741; fax: +61 7 49309871. 2 Tel.: +61 7 49306538; fax: +61 7 49309871. 3 Tel.: +61 7 49309894. 4 Tel.: +61 7 41507098; fax: +61 7 41507080. 0260-6917/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2010.12.024 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nurse Education Today journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/nedt