Self-awareness Experience of Nursing Students through a Short-Term Overseas Language Study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of self-awareness of nursing students through a short-term overseas language study. Methods: Study subjects were 10 nursing students, and collected data were analyzed with open coding, axial coding, selective coding, and process analysis based on Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory (1998). Results: In total, 23 sub-categories and 12 categories were generated. The 12 categories included "Longing for a bigger world", "Don't want to be intimidated", "Interest in English", "Tension about local classes", "Feeling of pushing the limit", "Getting along with natives", “Making Korean American University students a role model", "Self-observe confronting unfamiliarity", "Self-encourage about enduring hardships", "Self-expansion for a better self", "Recognize self-transformation", "Focusing on the reality". Nursing students' self-awareness experience through a short-term overseas language study was a process of solving the phenomenon of 'feeling of pushing the limit', and a derived core category was 'surpass the feeling of pushing the limit and take a step forward'. Conclusion: Study participants experienced self-awareness. These results will not only expand our understanding about self-awareness of nursing students and educators but will also provide information for developing a short-term overseas study program.