Developing Cultural Competence as Part of Nursing Studies: Language, Customs and Health Issues

Abstract

Introduction: Developing nurses' cultural competence begins with their basic training, and requires them to participate in an array of activities which raise their awareness and stimulate their interest, desire and curiosity to know about different cultures. The aim of this work is to evaluate a cultural competence teaching model for nursing students. Method: A qualitative and quantitative evaluation was done using a semi-structured questionnaire completed by 155 students. Results: An improvement in cultural awareness, knowledge and attitudes among students as well as their willingness to recognize the other's difference was noted. The qualitative evaluation raised 3 themes: attitude change, cultural intelligence improvement and exploring cultural similarities. Conclusions: Developing nurses' cultural competence needs to be part of their basic training and based on cultural knowledge and experiential learning methods as well as providing them the opportunity to be exposed to different cultures.