Health care delivery through a different lens: the lived experience of culture shock while participating in an international educational program.

An international educational experience can enhance the curriculum of an undergraduate program in nursing and can promote student development. However, many students who participate in international programs experience the debilitating effects of symptoms that comprise a phenomenon that is sometimes labeled culture shock. The progress of American nursing students through the stages of adaptation to a different culture is examined through journal entries the students recorded while they were in England for a short-term experience in community health nursing. The benefits of participation in an international program are discussed. Also included are guidelines for faculty to help them recognize the symptoms described and to implement appropriate interventions.