Guided practice has a big influence in the studies of a nurse. In the practice the student gets to use in practice the skills and knowledge of nursing that he/she has acquired in school. Not until the guided practice, a student gets to use the learnt knowledge in practice, by creating a treatment bond to the patient and by fulfilling the nursing with the nursery tutor. Students can do practices via school also abroad and participate in student exchange. Guided practice abroad gives the student a good opportunity to get to know a new country and culture and get international experience for the studies of his/her own business. With the help of the practice you improve your language skills and occupational development and improve your and your practice places internationality.

The purpose of the research was to describe the experiences nursing students have gained through their guided practice abroad. The aim is to exploit results to develop planning, execution and evaluation in guided practice at Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences. Theory parts concerns nursing studies, guided practice, professional growth and foreign exchange and guided practice.

This thesis is descriptive qualitative research, where theme interview was used as a method to approach the topic. We interviewed nursing students who completed an guided practice abroad at a foreign hospital as a part of their studies. The interview analysis we use is content analysis.

Guided practice abroad was diverse experience. Interviewees got to know totally different cultural knowledge in nursing. Our research revealed that guidance in Portugal was more diverse because students were guided by both teachers and nurses at the ward. Various different factors affected to interviewees professional growth.