Globally networked learning: Deepening Canadian and Danish nursing students' understanding of nursing, culture and health.

Background: Providing intercultural learning experiences that assist students to develop cultural awareness and culturally safe nursing care is an important part of nursing education in Canada and Denmark. However, providing opportunities for students to study and travel to another country can be challenging given the strict requirements to meet entry-to-practice competencies and the timing of clinical placement courses. In an attempt to increase opportunities for students, an innovative strategy called Globally Networked Learning (GNL) that uses the internet and social media, was developed to enable Canadian and Danish nursing students to collaborate and complete a clinically oriented assignment.

Objectives: This study aims to explore three research questions. What are the students' experiences with GNL? How did GNL influence understanding of how culture, nursing care and health systems influence health outcomes? Can GNL support students to develop a global understanding of health and nursing?

Design: A qualitative study was conducted to explore the students' experiences and learning from their participation in GNL.

Setting: A school of nursing in Canada and one in Denmark were used as sites for this study, although the collaborative learning experience occurred online.

Participants: In total, 24 BScN nursing students completed GNL projects (12 from Canada and 12 from Denmark) and 15 students (six Canadian and nine Danish) participated in this study.

Results: Students reported very positive experiences with using GNL to complete an assignment that was structured to support inter-cultural learning. Completing the GNL assignment enhanced students' understanding of the global reach of nursing, how culture influences nursing practice and how considering cultural differences enabled them to learn from each other to improve their nursing practice at home.

Conclusions: GNL is a promising education strategy and plans for expanding GNL in nursing education are proposed.