Virtual Study-Abroad Through Web Conferencing: Sharing Knowledge and Building Cultural Appreciation in Nursing Education and Practice.

King, Tara Spalla; Bochenek, Jeanie; Jenssen, Unni; Bowles, Wendy; Morrison-Beedy, Dianne

BACKGROUND With a focus on building global citizens, a U.S. and Norwegian academic collaborative partnership fostered clinical learning experiences addressing cultural and health care comparisons. High-impact educational practices integrated into international clinical experiences, combined with virtual global learning classrooms, highlighted the Sustainable Development Goals. PROBLEM Given nursing education's requirements, devising innovative strategies expanded global learning in brief but transformative experiences while integrating nontraveling students, especially relevant considering current pandemic-related travel restrictions. APPROACH We developed an educational experience pairing U.S. students (17 in person; 64 through web conference) and Norwegian students (50 in person; 3 for web conference) in population health experiences, providing required clinical hours and a shared cultural exchange. Integration of nontraveling students in joint virtual global experiences broadened the global learning opportunity for all. CONCLUSION This work offers insight into how faculty used a virtual global learning experience as a synergistic tool with traditional study abroad.