Their experiences : Identifying the barriers to international nursing students in achieving their goals in a multicultural university setting

Researcher: Helga Sebastian
Supervisors: Dr Anthony Armson & Kristina Medigovich
Completed: 2009 (Honours)
HREC Approval number: 2008/265

Increased enrolments of international nursing students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs are predicted as Australian universities compete for students in a globalised university market. While there are a number of reports on certain areas such as English language deficiencies, cross cultural adjustment problems and clinical placement issues among international nursing students, there is little information on the academic and social experiences of such students in a multicultural university setting.

This research aimed to explore the social and academic experiences of international nursing students and also identify the barriers preventing students from achieving their goals. Eight international nursing students aged 24-35 years from six different countries who were enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing Undergraduate program at an Australian University participated in this research. The students’ perceptions were explored using hermeneutic phenomenology as a research strategy.

Data was gathered from in depth interviews with the participants and analysed using thematic analysis. The four themes to emerge from the participants’ experiences were: learning difficulties, difficulties with the English language, initial settlement experiences, and cross cultural experiences. Each central theme was drawn from several subthemes.

The findings of the study provide an insight into the academic and social experiences of international nursing students. The study revealed that the participants had a number of barriers to the successful completion of their nursing program. It is hoped that this could make a valuable contribution to the nursing school by having supportive programs for international nursing students and consider how this particular group of students could be cared for to promote personal and professional development for their future profession as nurses.