External examiners: international collaboration in nursing education.

With the advent of mass communication, air travel, and most recently the World Wide Web, the need for global considerations in nursing and nursing education has emerged as a strong force. Nurses who serve as external examiners in international sites are participating in international collaboration in nursing education. The external examiner is defined as a visiting assessor of high academic standing with objectivity and integrity, who ensures that examination procedures are conducted according to regulations governing the academic degree. A long-standing British tradition in higher education, external examiners share in the intellectual effort of evaluating student courses and assessment strategies. The external examining experience consists of six steps: (1) appointment; (2) contract; (3) review of curriculum and examination materials; (4) on-site visit; (5) consolidating external and internal assessments; and (6) preliminary and final reports. The process is a complex one requiring the external examiner to function in multifaceted and complex roles. The authors, external examiners in Botswana, southern Africa, over a five-year period ending in 1997, present basic information about the process, the experience, and potential sources of difficulty when fulfilling the role.