Development of a resource to promote resilience in international students undertaking health courses

Abstract

The Resilience in International Student Education (RISE) project was funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) and aims to develop and build supportive strategies for international students in the nursing, public health, and nutrition and dietetics disciplines. The project is led by the Faculty of Health at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), working in partnership with the University of South Australia (UniSA), as well as clinical partners, to develop, implement and systematically embed a supportive model for promoting resilience and effective workplace functioning in international students. In addition to providing direct student support, this model will enhance the mechanisms by which international students are mentored and supervised when on practicum placement in clinical settings. The model and accompanying resources developed through the educational partnership will be informed by critical iterative feedback from a network of tertiary health education experts, specialists in the area of language and learning support, and other key stakeholders to ensure that project outcomes have the potential for mainstreaming across both the health education and health service sectors. The RISE project embeds a sustainable model for tertiary institutions and healthcare services to support international students in health courses that will result in more resilient, confident and job-ready international graduates. It will also contribute to safer and more culturally responsive healthcare in Australian hospitals and health services generally. The project has developed a range of innovative online resources to assist international students, and those supporting them, to negotiate common situations more successfully and access appropriate resources and networks.