Cross-Cultural Exchange Experiences in China: Medical Anthropology and Community Health Nursing Clinical for Nursing Students

Abstract

As most would say, traveling to China is a trip of a lifetime. With the support of many at UNCG and from various connections in China, we have provided undergraduate students a cultural experience that will be transformative, one that they may be able to use in their profession, in future international travel experiences or when they meet up with others from another country, especially those unable to communicate in English. The short-term study abroad experience incorporated a number of activities both in preparation as well as from the day of departure to completion of the trip. The way the program is arranged is for students to visit three major Chinese cities (Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai) and engage in service learning while participating in local health care experiences. Undergraduate nursing students complete some of their clinical hours and the anthropology students dip their toes in doing fieldwork in a vast country with a wide range of culture groups, and differing approaches to health care, nutrition, environmental conditions and ideas for solutions to many contemporary problems facing the Chinese people of the twenty first century.