An immersion program for clinical nurse leader students: Comparing health care systems in South Korea and the United States

Abstract

We examine the import of a Comparative Health Care Immersion Program in South Korea to prepare entry-level Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) students studying to become clinical nurse leaders (CNLs) who can dynamically engage the complex issues facing health systems in the United States (U.S.). Following passage of the Affordable Care Act, clinical nurse leaders are being expected to have insight into systems level issues and ameliorate them when they are related to poor patient outcomes. Examination of South Korea's health care system provides U.S. students an opportunity to see the design and action of a highly functional system and thus benchmark the U.S health care system. South Korea provides a useful comparator given their rapid development of a universal, single-payer health care system that uses advanced centralized computing and provides outcomes on par and surpassing the U.S. We explore implementation of a CNL competency-based curriculum, including financing, informatics, and health care efficiencies within the context of short-term study abroad.