Effect of international rehabilitation visiting student program on students’ professional development

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One of the important and enduring strategies that developing countries take in advancing education and training of rehabilitation students and professionals is fostering international partnerships, improving the quality of international education provision, and encouraging partnerships with foreign education institutions. The purpose of this presentation is to describe and examine the effect of an international visiting student program in a university of USA on students’ professional development. A total of seventy students in rehabilitation from China participated in the three-month summer visiting student program that included a combination of didactic coursework, clinical observation, and cultural immersion in the past three summers. The outcomes of the program were evaluated annually through a mixed methods approach incorporating a single group pre/posttest analysis and focus group discussions. The quantitative portion of the study incorporated the use of two instruments: the Team Skills Scale (TSS) (Hepburn, Tsukuda, & Fasser, 2002), and one subscale of the Cultural Competence Health Practitioner Assessment (CCHPA) (National Center for Cultural Competency, 2014). Qualitative data collection included videotaped interviews with participants at the end of the CRISP prior to the participants returning to China. The participants were asked open-ended reflection questions by a CRISP staff moderator. The results of quantitative data analyses revealed significant differences between pre and post tests suggesting the summer program had significant impact on students’ team work skills and cultural competence. The results of qualitative data analysis echoed the findings of the quantitative data. Findings of the program evaluation revealed that international immersion programs is one of the effective stepping stones to help prepare and develop rehabilitation professionals for countries in which rehabilitation is less developed. The willingness of educational institutions to commit to working with partners in another country is vital to initiate the collaboration.