High-Quality Care Across Cultures:
Communication, quality and safety of patients in nursing international care
This Short Advanced Programme (SAP) is hosted by the Technical University of Liberec (TUL, Czechia) in collaboration with Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK, Finland). Designed for nursing and healthcare students, the programme explores how international nursing teams deliver high-quality, safe, and person-centered care at the intersection of clinical risk, healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention, safe care transitions, communication barriers, and cross-cultural expectations.
The programme addresses a core question in modern European nursing: How can an international nursing team provide high-quality, safe, and person-centered care when clinical risks, communication barriers, and cultural expectations intersect?
Grounded in the Safe Care Compass framework (Quality, Safety, Communication, Culture), the course integrates an unfolding, week-long case study of a model patient (Elena), practical microbiology laboratory experiments on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) transmission, an interactive workshop on safe care transitions using Finnish evidence-based nursing guidelines (HOTUS), and a field visit to the Emergency Medical Services (ZZS).
Participants work in multinational, interprofessional teams to analyze real-world clinical scenarios, perform surface/skin microbial swab sampling, design safe discharge and follow-up care plans, and evaluate international transferability.
By bridging patient safety protocols, evidence-based care and discharge planning, clinical microbiology, and person-centered intercultural communication, this SAP prepares future healthcare professionals to deliver safe, high-quality, and empathetic nursing care across diverse European healthcare systems.
6th of April 2027 to 3rd of May 2027
English
Academic recognition may be granted at the home institution accordingto local regulations.
Bachelor or Master students of nursing.
| Departing Country | Destination Country | Non-green Travel + Subsistence 2026 | |
| Ireland | Czech Republic | 862 | |
| Austria | Czech Republic | 862 | |
| The Netherlands | Czech Republic | 862 | |
| Portugal (Barcelos) | Czech Republic | 948 | |
| Portugal (Leiria) | Czech Republic | 948 | |
| Belgium | Czech Republic | 862 | |
| Czech Rep. | Czech Republic | 862 | |
| Romania | Czech Republic | 862 |
Programme at a glance
• Introduction to the Short Advanced Programme (SAP), objectives, workload, and completion criteria.
• Guided online workshop introducing the Safe Care Compass framework (Quality, Safety, Communication, Culture).
• First encounter with the model patient case study (Mrs Elena P.) to prepare for the in-person week.
• Multinational team setup, establishing psychological safety rules of communication.
• Overview of the individual pre-mobility tasks and assignments.
Morning session
Welcome & kick-off: Introduction to the week, ground rules, credits, and the four Compass domains.
Intercultural team formation: Establishing balanced international groups, role assignments, and team agreements.
Workshop 1: Seeing the person — Shifting from task-oriented nursing to person-centered care using the "Notice–Ask–Verify" framework.
Model Patient First Encounter: Analyzing baseline scenario data for Mrs. Elena P. across the 4 Compass domains.
Afternoon Session
Workshop: Communication Across Cultures — Addressing language barriers, health literacy, family roles, and teach-back techniques.
Group reflection & daily debrief: Consolidating key insights and identifying open questions for Day 2.
Day 2 – Communicating and collaborating
Morning Session
Morning reconnection: Reviewing Elena's case progression and setting daily communication goals.
Workshop 2: Navigating difficult care conversations, de-escalating tension, and shared decision-making.
From Evidence to Quality: Group work formulating reasoned care decisions and testing cross-country transferability.
Afternoon Session
Intercultural Escape Game in Liberec: Team-building activity focused on city navigation, communication, and informal social contact.
Day 3 – Learning from risks
Morning Session
Presentation: Introduction to Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), transmission vectors, and environmental hygiene.
Workshop & Experiment Preparation: Demonstrating microbial colonization and surface hygiene protocols; formulating hypotheses.
Practical Sampling: Small groups conduct microbiological swab collection on microflora, nursing equipment, and high-touch surfaces.
Afternoon Session
Practical session reflection: Group analysis connecting lab observations to patient safety, critical transmission routes, and PPE usage.
Daily debrief & wrap-up: Recording predicted swab culture results and logging unanswered questions.
Day 4 – Sharing international practice & safe care transitions
Morning Session
Day Intro & Program Alignment.
Workshop: Safe Transition of Care — Preparing Elena for Discharge (facilitated by HAMK, Finland).
Applying Finnish evidence-based nursing guidelines (HOTUS) and the Safe Care Compass framework to Elena's hospital discharge.
Group work developing discharge and follow-up plans focused on continuity of care and patient involvement.
Afternoon Session
Practical Session (Rotational Groups):
Group A: Reading and evaluating microbiological swab results collected on Day 3.
Group B: Guided tour of TUL university research laboratories.
Groups swap midway through the afternoon session.
Day 5 – Emergency care & next steps
Morning Session till 12:30
Field visit to Emergency Medical Services (ZZS Liberec): On-site tour focusing on EMS organization, equipment, dispatch operations, and discussions with field crews.
Connecting urgent pre-hospital care to continuity of care and safe handovers.
Programme evaluation & survey: RUN-EU feedback survey and completion check.
Official Programme Closure: Next steps for post-mobility transfer assignments and farewell.
• Closing the programme loop: Reviewing Elena's complete care journey from admission to emergency re-entry.
• Honest reflection on system differences, clinical surprises, and evidence vs. initial assumptions.
• Mutual peer coaching within international teams to refine individual clinical practice transfer assignments.
• Formulating actionable commitments to implement safe care innovations in home institutions.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this Short Advanced Programme, learners will be able to:
Analyze the nursing situation in terms of quality, patient safety, communication, and cultural context using the Safe Care Compass framework.
Use culturally sensitive and person-centered communication techniques through (e.g., teach-back, plain language, interpreter selection) when managing care.
For example ISBAR, CUS to preserve patient safety.
Formulation using Finnish HOTUS guidelines and interprofessional collaboration.
Comparison to evaluate the feasibility of transferring clinical innovations to home healthcare settings.
Implementing best practices.
Selection criteria
- Basic understanding of nursing care
- Sufficient English language proficiency (B2 recommended) for international team collaboration, case analysis, and active workshop participation
- No prior clinical microbiology skills required
Involved organisations and persons
Häme University of Applied Sciences
Partner Organisation- Katja Rautiainen (Instructor)
Technical University of Liberec
Lead Organisation, Host Organisation- (Lead Instructor)
- Pavla Šafránková (Instructor)
Zdravotnická záchranná služba Libereckého kraje
Partner Organisation
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674
