More international and foreign-born people are choosing to live in America than ever before, many permanently. During the past decade, both education and healthcare have been acutely affected by this change in the national population. To address the need to provide effective healthcare to all ages of a diverse population as well as provide quality educational experiences for international and foreign-born students who enroll in American nursing programs, professional nursing has consistently revised and updated healthcare delivery practices and nursing program curricula. Research consistently addresses the provision of healthcare delivery to a diverse population, but in comparison little has been written about the international and foreign-born student who is in the United States studying and preparing to become a professional nurse. The aim of this study was to report and analyze the experiences of international and foreign-born nursing students who were currently enrolled in an accelerated, second degree program (ABSN) in the Midwest. The findings support prior studies relating to experiences of international and foreign-born students in multiple specialties in the United States, although none in accelerated baccalaureate nursing programs. Davis & Nichols (2001), Sanner, Wilson, & Samson (2002) and Chow (2011) attest to the determination, dedication, and the coping skills of the participants to adapt to and appropriately respond in culturally diverse situations in all venues as did this study. Further, the findings point to the successful development of cultural competence during the one-year ABSN program. The program resulted in positive personal change, also described as transformation for the study participants. An important additional finding was that as the participants mastered the intricacies of professional nursing, they became seriously intent on pursuing advanced degrees in various nursing specialties. This qualitative study will contribute to multiple fields of study as it revealed the individualism of the participants, the meaning they attributed to their year-long higher education experiences and their intention for service in our nation’s communities and around the world as professional nurses.

An interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed publication, Journal of International Students is a professional journal that publishes narrative, theoretical and empirically-based research articles, study abroad reflections, and book reviews relevant to international students, faculty, scholars, and their cross-cultural experiences and understanding in higher education. The Journal audience includes international and domestic students, faculty, administrators, and educators engaged in research and practice in international students in colleges and universities. More information on the web: http: //jistudents.org

The Journal of International Students (JIS), an academic, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed publication (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & Online ISSN 2166-3750), publishes scholarly peer reviewed articles on international students in tertiary education, secondary education, and other educational settings that make significant contributions to research, policy, and practice in the internationalization of higher education. visit: www.ojed.org/jis

Author's abstract:This study is an inquiry into the challenges faced by African born international nursing students at a university in southeast Georgia. The barriers to success that must be overcome by international students in the U.S.A. are well documented, and previous studies have shown that the barriers are even greater for students from Africa than for other international students, due to the vast differences between their cultural backgrounds and American culture. When the international students are also Black, as are the participants in this study, they may also face racial discrimination and prejudice in addition to the numerous other barriers to their success. This study seeks to understand and construct meaning from the lived experiences of African-born international students at a majority White university in Southeast Georgia. By giving voice to the participants and presenting the results in their own words, this study provides insight into the barriers to success that they face, and includes their feedback about potential strategies to increase their chances for success. This inquiry is centered on understanding the reasons that many African-born international nursing students struggle to be successful in the nursing program under study in southeast Georgia, and the barriers that impact their ability to be successful once they are admitted. It also explores the effects of their own past cultural experience on their ability to adapt to the curriculum and be successful in the nursing program, and how the cultural influence of the study setting affects the transitional process of the study participants.