The Ingram School of Nursing Ambassador Program was established in 2006 to provide undergraduate nursing students with an opportunity to study clinically outside the usual McGill Teaching Hospital and Agency Network in health care agencies throughout the rest of Canada or internationally. To date (excluding 2019 – 2021 due to cessation of Ambassador program during the pandemic), 204 final year nursing students have been selected as Ambassadors to six continents! The following table summarizes the range of locations where students have studied.
|
CONTINENT |
COUNTRY | NUMBER OF STUDENTS |
|
Africa
|
Ghana |
15 |
|
Kenya |
3 |
|
|
Malawi |
1 |
|
|
Morocco |
1 |
|
|
Swaziland |
1 |
|
|
Tanzania |
2 |
|
|
Uganda |
4 |
|
|
Zambia |
3 |
|
|
TOTAL |
30 |
|
|
Asia
|
Cambodia |
2 |
|
China |
2 |
|
|
India |
2 |
|
|
Japan |
1 |
|
|
Nepal |
10 |
|
|
Philippines |
18 |
|
|
Sri Lanka |
6 |
|
|
Taiwan |
2 |
|
|
TOTAL |
43 |
|
|
Australia |
Australia |
3 |
|
Europe
|
England |
2 |
|
France |
6 |
|
|
Ireland |
5 |
|
|
Romania |
1 |
|
|
TOTAL |
14 |
|
|
North America
|
Canada (all provinces and territories) |
94 |
|
Guatemala |
2 |
|
|
Honduras |
4 |
|
|
Mexico |
1 |
|
|
Unites States |
7 |
|
|
TOTAL |
108 |
|
|
South America
|
Argentina |
3 |
|
Bolivia |
2 |
|
|
Peru |
1 |
|
|
TOTAL |
6 |
Students wishing to complete their 5-credit Clinical Consolidation as Ambassadors must meet strict GPA requirements, complete a solid ‘Clinical Placement Proposal’, and undergo a formal interview. All Ambassadors must demonstrate that they are self-directed, professional at all times, as well as have strong clinical reasoning and nursing practice skills. They must participate in a pre-departure workshop and are offered a re-entry workshop on their return.
While the majority of Ambassadors have been BScN students, at least 10 BNI students have opted to use the Ambassador experience as their elective. All Ambassadors have lauded the fact that they can study in clinical settings of their choice around the world. A faculty member is assigned to this group to provide support to both the student as well as agency hosting the student throughout their time as Ambassadors and several long-standing partnerships have been developed over time.
