Impact of COIL: Learning From Student Nurses in Norway Who Collaborated With U.S. Students.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the experience of Norwegian nursing students with internationalization through participation in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course. BACKGROUND: Educators in Norway and the United States collaborated to incorporate internationalization and population health concepts into virtual courses during the pandemic. Literature gaps exist in post-implementation assessment data that ascertain internationalization through the COIL experience. DESIGN: This was a qualitative study with a descriptive design. Data were collected from focus group interviews and analyzed conventional content-analysis approaches. METHODS: Fifteen Norwegian undergraduate nursing students who participated in the COIL opportunity completed focus group interviews. FINDINGS: The themes identified included, "virtual conversation builds collaborations and enhances learning," and "this opened my eyes." CONCLUSIONS: Norwegian students acknowledged they had learned transferable lessons from their global partners that could be applied to patient care of the marginalized population in Norway.

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

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.