Cultural impact with reflective journaling

As student nurses begin to engage in a caring profession, being able to reflect and grow from their experiences is critical.  Journaling is one way to be able to identify areas that can impact their practice.  Immersions within a new culture offer the opportunity to develop self-confidence in their practice, strengthen critical thinking and helps student nurses to solve problems encountered while interacting with persons from an unfamiliar culture in unfamiliar settings. Eight US students traveled to West Africa to work with students in an English speaking university and to engage in bidirectional learning with fellow nursing students.  During this two week immersion program, the reflective journal was a strategy utilized to facilitate the identification of  their feelings related to being a minority within another country. This study adds to the body of knowledge of the value of reflection in their growth and practice as a nurse.