Exploring the experiences of undergraduate international nursing students in Australia: a scoping review

Aim: This scoping review aimed to gain an understanding of the experiences of international nursing students in Australia. Background: Australia has had a significant increase in the number of international students over the past three decades. Australia has a high-quality education and a multicultural environment that attracts nursing students. However, international nursing students often face different challenges compared with domestic students, such as adjusting to different health care systems and education methods. As such, it is important to understand international students’ experiences in Australia. Despite extensive research on the experiences of international students, there is relatively little research focusing specifically on the experiences of international nursing students. Design: Arksey and O'Malley’s (2005) framework Methods: This scoping review was conducted using Scopus, CINAHL, ProQuest, PsycINFO and MEDLINE databases. Grey literature and reference list searching were also conducted. Seven (7) articles were included in the scoping review. The study was registered on OSF and URL: https://osf.io/aj4x9 Results: Four themes were generated from the findings of this review: cultural shock, second language anxiety, students’ emotions and supportive services. These challenges has an impact on international nursing students’ physical and mental well-being. In addition, this review highlighted a need for greater language support, culturally safe socialization and peer support programs in both clinical and classroom settings. Conclusion: The review demonstrated the importance of understanding the experiences of international nursing students in nursing education and identified the different challenges faced by international nursing students and how this has an impact on their learning in the classroom and clinical settings.