Practical experiences form a fundamental part of preparation for labour mobility and/or for practice within a multicultural environment. However, health-care practitioners need to be adequately prepared for such experiences and value the opportunity to learn about culture, to explore values and beliefs, and to practise intercultural skills within the safe environment of an educational establishment, facilitated by skilled teachers.

A primary responsibility for nurse educators is to provide students with theoretical knowledge and clinical skills for professional nursing. In this study, laboratory faculty developed a creative pedagogical strategy to reduce nursing student stress during assessment of skill performance. Mock competencies were structured so that students participated in peer-to-peer evaluations in simulated competency assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this pedagogical strategy had an impact on first-round pass rates for skills competency assessments.