Promoting patient safety among nursing students: A mixed-method study on collaborative cross-cultural learning

Aim

This study aimed to examine the feasibility of collaborative cross-cultural learning among university nursing students in Singapore and nursing students from Korea in developing insights on patient safety and understanding students' perspectives.

Background

Patient safety is an important part of nursing management to deliver quality care to patients. However, studies suggested that nursing students were not adhering to guidelines.

Designs: This pilot study used a mixed-method embedded design. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines were employed to provide a deeper understanding of the nursing perceptions and behaviours towards collaborative learning.

Methods

The study took place between August 2023 and December 2023. 12 Singaporean students participated in the online collaborative learning session with 16 Korean students. Only nursing students from Singapore were invited and completed an online pre- and post-intervention survey covering attitude and perceived knowledge on patient safety followed by the interviews.

Results

Participants reported an improvement in their perspectives towards medical errors and patient safety after the session. Four themes and 11 sub-themes were reported 1) intercultural communication, 2) curriculum design, 3) personal attributes and experiences and 4) the impact of online platforms, to understand their perspectives of cross-cultural learning on their attitudes and perspectives.

Conclusion

Cultural collaborative learning, when aligned with connectivism, had shown its feasibility in developing insights on patient safety and understanding students' perspectives to strengthen their personal beliefs and promote patient safety in their clinical area. The challenges faced when conducting collaborative cross-cultural learning via online platforms were also explored in this study and addressed to ensure equitable participation by everyone.