Liisa Koskinen

Charactersistics of intercultural mentoring – a mentor perspective

Abstract This article reports a study of Finnish preceptors’ and British undergraduate nursing students’ mentor–student relationship during international placement in Finland from the mentors’ perspective. The study aimed to explore the characteristics of intercultural mentorship and the strategies used by the mentors to improve the students’ intercultural competence. Altogether 23 mentors and five students participated in this study. The data consisted of mentoring session observations, group interviews and research diary notes. Intercultural mentorship was characterised by concern about the students’ adjustment, pervasiveness of the relationship, sense of mutual learning, inadequate school–placement co-operation and concern about learning outcomes. The mentors used a variety of strategies to improve the students’ intercultural competence. Mentorship was both a rewarding and a frustrating experience.

Putting culture in the curriculum: A European project

The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale for and the method of designing a framework for a European curriculum to promote intercultural competence in health care students. The background relating to the migration of people into and across Europe is cited as the factor driving the need for such a project. The project group emerged from the European organisation known as COHEHRE (Consortium of Higher Education Institutes in Health and Rehabilitation in Europe). Composed of a group of nurse educators from 5 European countries it charts the process which led them to create a curriculum framework. The completed work is available in the form of a CD-ROM. The paper describes the steps taken to reach the project outcomes over 4 years. The methods of dissemination of the project outcomes are included. The discussion considers the journey of the group towards the outcomes of the project and identifies the need to discover how effective the framework is in achieving the aims of the group. In conclusion it articulates the hope that this work will improve the care which is shown to all recipients of health care whatever their cultural background.

European higher health care education curriculum: development of a cultural framework.

This article concerns the European Curriculum in Cultural Care Project (2005-2009), which aimed at developing a curriculum framework for the enhancement of cultural competence in European health care education. The project was initiated and supported by the Consortium of Institutes in Higher Education in Health and Rehabilitation, whose goal is to nurture educational development and networking among member institutions. The framework is the result of a collaborative endeavor by nine nurse educators from five different European countries. The production of the framework will be described in accordance with the following tenets: developing cultural competence is a continuing process, cultural competence is based on sensitivity toward others, and cultural competence is a process of progressive inquiry. Critique concerning the framework will be presented.

A European union and Canadian review of public health nursing preparation and practice.

OBJECTIVE This study explores the preparation and role of the public health nurse (PHN) across European Union (EU) countries (Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Canadian provinces (Alberta, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island). METHODS A literature review including relevant peer reviewed articles from 2000 on, in conjunction, with critical debate was undertaken. The results were considered in relation to the three essential areas of PHN practice, outlined in the World Health Organization (Moving on from Munich: A reference guide to the implementation of the declaration on nurses and midwives: A force for health, 2001b) recommendations, family oriented care, public health action, and policy making. RESULTS The major challenge the review revealed across a variety of international education and practice environments was the lack of consistent preparation for and engagement with leadership and policy making in practice.

Reflections on the group processes of a European intercultural nurse education project.

A group of European healthcare educators, involved in a cross-country project that produced a framework for curriculum on developing cultural competence in nursing students, subsequently established a network and collegiate relationships. They reflect on the impact that cultural differences, language, and geographic location had on group processes. Globalization and migration, influenced by worldwide economic and political changes, have a direct impact on healthcare delivery and the patient-nurse relationship. This has been experienced by all healthcare practitioners in Europe who care for people with a range of health beliefs, values, and cultural practices that are different from their own and the majority culture. European health educators are responding to these challenges by ensuring that local curriculum is robust and culturally appropriate and prepares nurses with the skills and knowledge of cultural competence for healthcare practice.

Developing and Translating a New Model for Teaching Empowerment Into Routine Chronic Care Management: An International Patient-Centered Project

Background: Health professional education has been criticized for not integrating patient expertise into professional curricula to develop professional skills in patient empowerment. Objective: To develop and translate a new expert patient-centered model for teaching empowerment into professional education about routine chronic care management. Methods: Eight Finnish patients (known as expert patients), 31 students, and 11 lecturers from 4 European countries participated in a new pilot intensive educational module. Thirteen focus groups, artefacts, and an online student evaluation were analyzed using a thematic analysis and triangulated using a meta-matrix. Results: A patient-centered pedagogical model is presented, which describes 3 phases of empowerment: (1) preliminary work, (2) the elements of empowerment, and (3) the expected outcomes. These 3 phases were bound by 2 cross-cutting themes “time” and “enabling resources.” Conclusion: Patient expertise was embedded into the new module curriculum. Using an example of care planning, and Pentland and Feldman’s theory of routine organization, the results are translated into a patient-centered educational model for teaching empowerment to health profession students.

Older people’s views and expectations about the competences of health and social care professionals: a European qualitative study

Adapting and providing quality services for people as they age is a common challenge across Europe. The perspective of older people is fundamental in a person-centred care approach. Expanding research at the European level that explicitly includes their views can offer a relevant contribution to the development of evidence-based guidelines that can be shared in education and training across health and social care professions. This study aimed to identify common meaningful dimensions of professional competence in health and social care emphasised by older people from six countries in different regions of Europe according to their experiences. A qualitative approach was chosen with a total of 95 semi-structured interviews conducted in Austria, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Turkey and UK, following a common topic guide. Participants in this study were aged 60 and above, and recruitment considered age, gender, level of education and living arrangements. Results identified a set of universal skills and practices that according to older people, health and social care professionals should meet. Competences at the interpersonal level were central in older people’s discourses, and its core dimensions are anchored in relational, communication and socio-emotional skills of professionals. These findings reinforce the aspiration of establishing best practices in care that relies on the harmonisation of a competence framework that can be shared in the training and education of health and social care professionals across Europe and that voices older people’s preferences, expectations and needs.