Topics Norwegian Nursing Students are Concerned with during Clinical Placement in an African Country: Analysis of Reflective Journals

Abstract

Many Norwegian nursing students participate in exchange programs in Africa. During their stay, they attend clinical placements and write reflective journals about their experiences. The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge of the topics these students were concerned with during their placement by analyzing their journals. The paper is based on text analysis of 350 reflective journals representing 197 students. The analysis reveals 7 main categories: lack of care, poor administration of work, inadequate communication, incompetence, positive experiences, inadequate hygiene, and poverty. The majority of the topics are negative descriptions of local nursing. This can be a result of the students' lack of cultural competence as they have few reflections on cultural values but a clear tendency to be judgmental of the local nurses.