Contested discourses and culture sensitivity: Norwegian nursing students' experience of clinical placement in Nicaragua

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of Norwegian students' practical experience of “culture sensitivity.”. Design: Using focus-group interviews and individual written assignments, we draw on a Foucauldian-inspired approach to analyse nursing students' narratives about their clinical placement in Nicaragua. Method: Seven third-year bachelor nursing students enrolled in a clinical placement programme on the Caribbean coast in Nicaragua and participated in focus-group interviews. Interviews were conducted prior to their departure to Nicaragua and after their return to Norway. Other sources of data included learning objectives for clinical placement, written individual assignments with students' reflections about their experiences and achievement of learning objectives. Results: Students expressed gradually increased awareness about the nursing discourses and power relations shaping clinical encounters throughout their learning trajectory in clinical placement. They became more aware of the politics of nursing practices through their experiences of clashes between different nursing discourses.