Nurse Researchers need to explore study abroad programs and identify their impact on the development of cultural competence and global perspectives in nursing students. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of nursing students who study abroad and to identify benefits and impediments that may be used to spawn future research and shape existing and future study abroad programs. The research question for this phenomenological study was "What is the lived experience of nursing students who study abroad?" A purposive sample of nursing students was obtained and included participants who completed an elective study abroad nursing course to either England or Dominica between 2006 and 2008. Data collection was obtained from two sources: semistructured interviews and written reflective travel journals. Four themes became evident as a result of becoming immersed in students' written and spoken words. Those themes were recognizing, encountering, adapting, and mastering. Findings from this study suggest that there are vast benefits of study abroad programs for nursing students including, but not limited to, increased personal growth, awareness of diverse cultures, adapting despite an unfamiliar environment, and increased self-efficacy. These findings have strong implications for nursing education, practice, and research.
Nurse researchers need to explore study abroad programs and identify their impact on the development of cultural competence and global perspectives in nursing students. Despite the anecdotal professional and personal benefits that have been attributed to study abroad in other disciplines, current nursing literature regarding this topic is limited and has only emerged in nursing research within the last decade. There is a significant gap in the existing body of knowledge with respect to American nursing students who study abroad and the reported benefits of and impediments to their experiences. Much of the nursing research conducted with American nursing students has been quantitative as opposed to qualitative studies with European and Australian nursing students. Many samples are homogenous and therefore exclude diverse populations. Further research involving all methodological designs is warranted to better understand this type of engaged learning.
Objectives
To measure the effectiveness of pharmacy‐led ward‐based education sessions for pharmaceutical waste.
Methods
A pharmacy technician delivery pharmaceutical waste education in 2017. To measure the impact, results from pharmaceutical wastage audits from 2016 and 2018 were compared.
Key findings
Pharmacy‐led ward‐based education reduces pharmaceutical waste and saves money. It was calculated that the cost of medication wastage was reduced by $1715.67 in the audit period, extrapolating to an annual saving of $44 607.45.
Conclusions
The findings highlighted the importance of pharmacy technicians and provided evidence for an advanced scope pharmacy technician ward role to reduce pharmaceutical wastage.
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