Short term study abroad experiences: Coping with cognitive dissonance

Background: Cultural immersion experiences during short-term study trips are intended to bring about greater cultural awareness and help students develop skills in cultural communication. Tools that measure cultural competency were not developed to measure what experiences contribute to students' response to cultural immersion or whether those experiences produce positive or negative effects. Method: Using reflective journals and summary papers written by senior nursing students who traveled to either Bangladesh or Uganda for a public health nursing course, we used narrative content analysis to identify which experiences led to cognitive dissonance. How students responded to the challenge of perceived negative situations for which they felt unprepared and perhaps powerless to alter was identified. Results: Journals reflected frustrations with (1) the attitudes and behaviors toward patients by nurses in clinical situations; (2) an apparent lack of attention to the safety of infants and small children by parents, (3) different perceptions of time and commitment to scheduled appointments, and (4) failure to remove or recycle refuse from communities or family home sites. Students engaged in reflective discussions but also used withdrawal, distraction, and blame depending on the situation and timing of the experience. Students reported discouragement and/or anger when they felt that they could not be effective change agents. Conclusions: Negative as well as positive transformative events occur during study abroad programs; both lead to learning. Further analysis may provide suggestions to enhance student empathy and skills to cope with dissonance; and help faculty provide realistic acknowledgement of limits of short-term cultural immersion.