20: ENHANCING THE DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE DEGREE ■ 449architectural styles and meadows leading down to the River Cam. Their King’s College
Chapel has some of the finest Gothic fan vaulting in England. The theater opportunities
on London’s West End rival New York City’s Broadway, and the students and faculty at-
tended dramatic performances of Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre and Billy Elliot at
Victoria Palace Theatre. In year 2, students and faculty were also given a tour of the Royal
College of Surgeons, which included a view of the Hunterian Collection, an outstanding
collection of over 3,500 natural history specimens assembled by the surgeon and anato-
mist John Hunter. One benefit of working with FIE is that they have traditionally provid-
ed complimentary admission to teaching faculty to all scheduled events and provided a
private office, computer support, and cell phones to the faculty as well.
Coursework formally began on the first Monday after arrival. The speakers who
visited our classrooms were selected to bring to students the “English view” on a vari-
ety of topics, just as the sites provided them with a flavor of England’s architecture, arts,
and history. The following was a sample year- 1 itinerary and roster of speakers in our
all- day visit to Kingston University and St. George’s University of London:
- Dignity in Everyday Nursing Practice — Dr. Ann Gallagher, Senior Research
Fellow - Nursing Leadership in the Modern NHS— Ms. Jayne Quigley, Head of Nurs-
ing, Leadership Development, St. George’s Healthcare NHS Trust - Leading Nursing in a London Hospital— Dr. Geraldine Walters, Director of
Nursing, St. George’s Healthcare NHS Trust and Visiting Professor, Bucking-
hamshire Chilterns University College - Leading and Researching Nursing in a Multi- Professional Faculty— Ms. Kath
Start, Deputy Dean and Head of School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and So-
cial Care Sciences - The Nurse Consultant Role in Critical Care— Ms. Deborah Dawson, Nurse
Consultant in Critical Care, St. George’s Healthcare NHS Trust
The students and faculty were also privileged to have a lively discussion of educa-
tional differences in doctoral education with Professor Fiona Ross, dean of the Faculty
of Health and Social Care Sciences.
Over the 2 years, speakers in one of the two courses taught abroad, Clinical and
Applied Ethics in Nursing Practice (which had been taught twice), have included
Dr. Verena Tschudin, then a reader and director of the International Centre for Nursing
Ethics (ICNE), who spoke on “International Dimensions of Nursing Ethics,” as well
as “Human rights issues: Women and nurses,” and Dr. Paul Wainwright, professor,
Kingston University and St. George’s University of London on “Research Ethics in
the UK.” In addition, there was the eminent international biomedical ethics scholar
Professor Donna Dickenson, who won the Fourth International Spinoza Lens Award
2006 for Ethics (the first woman to win this award). She used a very dynamic reflective
questioning style with the doctoral students. In the 2007 session, she selected assigned
readings from her new book, Property in the Body: Feminist Perspectives (Dickenson, 2007),
and in 2008 the program focused on her book Body Shopping: The Economy Fueled by Flesh
& Blood (Dickenson, 2008). In 2008, the doctoral students also had the opportunity to
take part in an interactive presentation with Dr. Christopher Johns. Dr. Johns (2006) is
recognized internationally as a pioneer of reflective practice within nursing and health
care. During this half- day session, students gained a thorough understanding of the
true meaning of reflection, its application in health care practice settings, and how to
incorporate reflective practice into their future roles as doctoral- prepared nurses and
clinical scholars.