International Service–Learning: An Opportunity to Engage in Cultural Competence

•One-day international service–learning projects are an opportunity for nursing students to engage in learning cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills.•One-day immersion visits took place in Tijuana, Mexico, with 37 students participating in at least one trip with a few students participating in two.•Common areas of experiences became apparent from student comments during the trip and debriefing and informal observations from faculty.•The three common experiences that were described were categorized as cultural communication, cultural confidence, and cultural surprise.

One-day international service–learning projects are an opportunity for nursing students to engage in learning cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. At XXX University, faculty developed these international service–learning projects in Mexico where students participated in health promotion teaching for children and families and providing health care for older adults. The purpose of this article is to describe 3 types of student experiences gained during 1-day international service–learning projects. We named these experiences cultural communication, cultural confidence, and cultural surprise.