Exploring the experiences of being an ethnic minority student within undergraduate nurse education: a qualitative study

Abstract

BackgroundStudents studying in a country where another language is spoken face multiple challenges including their ability to fully integrate with peers and academic pressures in trying to obtain an undergraduate nursing degree. The aim of the study was to explore the lived experiences of students, from varying cultural and ethnic backgrounds, undertaking an undergraduate nursing degree.MethodsThe study adopted a qualitative design and eight individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were analysed using manifest content analysis according to Graneheim and Lundman.ResultsStudents reported feelings of isolation and the lack of opportunities to integrate with native students within academia and practice. The need for personal support was a crucial factor that was independent of gender and students reported challenges related to both language and culture during the programme.ConclusionsSuggestions arising from this study includes appropriate support systems within academia and practice. It is imperative that universities and practice settings promote and integrate cultural awareness within academia and practice in meeting the needs of students and providing culturally appropriate nursing care, thereby providing opportunities for all students to become competent and professional practitioners.

Fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, general health and quality of life among baccalaureate nursing students at one year into the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed method study

“…The students conveyed that the feeling of missing personal relations with other students became a stressor for them. Social and academic isolation can have major consequences when acquiring professional knowledge [10,34,35]. Such ndings were also reported in another study based on a national sample where the nursing students showed strong feelings of social and academic isolation during the pandemic [36].…”

Fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, general health and quality of life among baccalaureate nursing students at one year into the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed method study

“…The students conveyed that the feeling of missing personal relations with other students became a stressor for them. Social and academic isolation can have major consequences when acquiring professional knowledge [10,34,35]. Such ndings were also reported in another study based on a national sample where the nursing students showed strong feelings of social and academic isolation during the pandemic [36].…”

Skills for Future Work (H2030): Multigroup Analysis in Professional and Baccalaureate Training

“…This might be explained by the lesser integration of this dimension within PT and baccalaureate students. This may be the case due to the fact that the student groups at these educational stages count on students from a highly specific contextual area who do not have the chance to work with other cultures, moving away from the normalization of multiculturality (Bhatnagar, 2017; Flateland et al, 2019). Thus, it can be established that, for this context and educational stage, cultural sensitivity in the workplace is observed as something extrinsic to this setting, being considered as something potentially more relevant in other contexts or higher educational stages (Aktoprak et al, 2018; Manning et al, 2017).…”