title: Developing global citizenship online: an authentic alternative to overseas clinical placement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This paper presents the findings of a pilot project to develop and evaluate an international nursing module delivered using a collaborative online platform between nursing programmes in Scotland, USA and Finland. The purpose of the project was to provide an authentic international nursing experience for nursing students, allowing them to explore and contrast the nursing and health care issues in an international context.
  
  
  METHODS
  The pilot cohort ran in September 2011 with a total of 22 students with a mix of students from both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. A mixed methods research design was used to evaluate the students' experience using an anonymous online questionnaire and the collection of testimonials from students based on their experience.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results demonstrated high levels of satisfaction with the learning experience. Four key themes-learning together, widening horizons, developing autonomy and learning beyond frontiers-emerged from the qualitative data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Developing confidence from the shared learning experience has real implications for the global mobility of the nursing workforce as it helps to prepare nurses for a career beyond their own country's borders. The pilot module has clearly demonstrated that the use of Web 2.0 technology in the forms of a wiki may effectively be employed to provide an online learning environment to allow cross institutional learning.
authors.affiliation: Office of the Vice Principal (Academic), Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Sighthill Court, Edinburgh, EH11 4BN, UK. Electronic address: k.strickland@napier.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adamson
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: McInally
authors.forename: Hannele
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiittanen
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metcalfe
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D020375:Education, Distance; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000379:methods*; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D020407:Internet; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012606:Scotland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States