454 ■ III: ROLE FUNCTIONS OF DOCTORAL ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
methods used in their research. Each lecturer was well prepared and willing to
entertain questions from each of us. Also, after the lectures, our professor from
Drexel would summarize and clarify any questions raised during the morning’s
session and prepare us for the next day. I think we were each impressed how
each lecturer brought to us a living classroom from which we were able to ab-
sorb much more than if we had just read their articles and discussed them in
class in Philadelphia. We also spent a day at Trinity College with the doctoral
nursing students in the morning and in the afternoon learned about their edu-
cational system, types of research being pursued by the students, and strengths
of their program. During lunch, there were informal opportunities to share per-
sonal experiences of doctoral education and our own research interests with the
Trinity students and faculty. We discussed the differences between the United
States and Ireland, as well as the differences between Drexel University and
Trinity College. Many of us also visited the Book of Kells and Trinity Library that
same day. In our time off, we enjoyed taking in the sights and tastes of Ireland.
Each of us wandered in our own directions, some of us taking in Howth, Belfast,
Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, and Cork, to name a few. We enjoyed watching
football and rugby from the local taverns, and of course had to spend some time
in the Temple Bar Area listening to Irish music and enjoying the Guinness (we
were doctoral students!). As a group, we visited Glendalough and the Wicklow
mountains on our last day in Ireland. We even got used to the rainy damp weath-
er and appreciated the beautiful days we had, as well. The country of Ireland
is beautiful, and the people could not have been more welcoming. The camara-
derie among many of us was enhanced significantly, and was a bonus to every-
thing else we experienced and learned on this short, but expansive learning ex-
perience. Many other programs encourage their students to study abroad, but we
were privileged that this was a mandatory part of our curriculum. I know some
of my classmates clearly underestimated the impact this trip would have on our
lives. I am sure if it were only optional, our chief nursing officer colleague, for
example, would have said she could not afford to leave her high- powered posi-
tion for 2 weeks. Instead, she had to go and, indeed, had a ball. For any doctoral
students studying abroad, it will most likely be an unforgettable, life- altering
experience, well worth the inconveniences it may have caused in the life of a
doctoral student.Cynthia Gifford- Hollingsworth, DrNP, CRNP, CPNP, Surgical Research Nurse Supervisor,
Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Drexel University, Class of 2007■ CASE STUDY II: The DrNP- in- Dublin Program: A Doctoral
Student’s Perspective (continued)■ WHAT WE LEARNED FROM BOTH EXPERIENCES
When Drexel planned and implemented the mandatory 2- week study- abroad experi-
ence, the faculty was not clear on the direct impact that such an experience would have
on the overall student’s global and doctoral educational experience. In year 1, faculty
were immediately and pleasantly surprised how deep an impression the study- abroad
experience had on the students, both personally and professionally. Simply based on