A group of four student nurses from Israel are taking part in a student exchange visit to the Highlands.
It has been arranged by the Highland Campus of University of Stirling at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness in partnership with NHS Highland.
Pre-registration student nurses from the Nazareth School of Nursing, who arrived on Monday, began their three-week educational tour with an induction day on the Highland Campus of the University’s school of health sciences.
This is the third year in succession that Israeli nursing students have visited the region.
While on placement they will be informed about nursing and healthcare in the UK by registered nurses on their particular wards in Raigmore Hospital. They will finish off their trip with an insight into a variety of specialist areas.
The students have raised money for their travel to the UK and will be living in the staff accommodation on the Raigmore campus.
They will not be participating in the delivery of healthcare while they are Inverness, but will benefit from the opportunity to observe and discuss similarities and differences in nursing practice.
The Nazareth Hospital, based in Nazareth in Northern Galilee, is known locally as the “English hospital” though it has strong Scottish connections.
The Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society, which trained medical personnel to work in needy areas, supported its development and, under the operating name of the Nazareth Trust, runs both the hospital and school of nursing.
The school opened in 1924 and is a distinctly Christian organisation, though around 70% of its female students are Muslim.
William Craig-Macleman, NHS Highland divisional nurse manager for surgical specialists at Raigmore, said: “We are three years into an exciting exchange project, which offers participants a great opportunity to witness nursing practice in a different country.
“The Nazareth students will get a unique opportunity to learn about a different system of healthcare. They will also be observing how evidence-based practice is implemented, how nursing is regulated and how professionalism is expressed in Scotland.
“They are particularly interested to learn about medical-surgical nursing care in Scotland, and in the cross-cultural experience. It also offers us a helpful insight, and the opportunity to learn from the culture and experience of the visitors.”