Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences
Article Title
Indian healthcare system: Reflections of Swedish nursing students
Abstract
Internationalization within nursing programs is essential to provide nurses with cultural competence and for nursing students to gain an international perspective. It has also been shown to be effective to gain a cultural understanding. This paper aims to illuminate and explain the experiences that Swedish nursing students had while they engaged in clinical training during an exchange program in India and to provide a comparison between the health service in both countries. Nursing students from Sweden did a four-week clinical placement within the primary healthcare in India in 2020. During the clinical placement, which consisted of a variety of healthcare clinics, the nursing students wrote weekly reports with reflections from their clinical placement. The analysis of the current review showed differences compared to Sweden regarding being able to reach out to villages and admitting patients for surgery within a short period. Differences were noted regarding working with home-visits largely than in Sweden and in that the hospital settings had a higher staff rate compared to Sweden. The nursing students expressed the perceptions of alternative medicine being used largely in India and how this medicine enabled health professionals to get a more holistic perspective of the patients’ needs. The students observed social and economic issues affecting healthcare in India. The review highlights the impact that nursing exchange programs could have on nursing students, regarding gaining cultural awareness and competence as well as an appreciation for other cultures and nursing traditions.