Lost in Translation: Student Perceptions of Cultural Competence in Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Curricula

Abstract

The rapidly changing demographics of the United States require nurses who are equipped with knowledge and skills to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse patient population. Nurse educators seek to meet this challenge through integrating cultural competence into nursing course curricula. Few studies have examined student perceptions of the integration of this material. As part of a larger school wide assessment, this qualitative descriptive study utilized focus groups of PhD and BSN students to evaluate their perceptions of the integration of cultural competence in the nursing curriculum. We sought to answer two questions: 1.) what the students' perceptions were and 2.) what recommendations they had for improvement. The results of the focus groups yielded three themes: 1.) Broadening definitions, 2.) Integrating cultural competence, and 3.) Missed opportunities. Student suggestions and recommendations for enhancing cultural competence in the curricula are provided.

The predictors of cultural competence among new baccalaureate degree nursing graduates: Implications for nursing education

“…This study found no significant difference between integration of cultural concepts versus no integration on perceived level of cultural competence (p = .22). Research does suggest that integration is the most feasible teaching method due to time and resources, [13] therefore an organized method of implementation should be used. An additional strategy to utilize that could facilitate integration of cultural content would be to provide faculty workshops on teaching to enhance cultural competency, and then following-up with faculty peer evaluations of courses.…”

“…To address this need, the aim of the study was to determine which teaching method(s) among the most prevalent used as noted in the literature (stand-alone course on culture, integration of cultural concepts, cultural immersion) is/are the best predictor(s) of cultural competence after graduation. [11][12][13] Increased cultural competence among graduates can aid in the potential reduction of disparities in health and health care, and can contribute to the delivery of high quality, equitable health care to consumers in society today.…”

“…Some studies that used this model showed its effectiveness in guiding teaching and learning methods, but there is a need for further research identifying predictors of cultural competence. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Many approaches were noted in the literature related to cultural competence in the curriculum, and are summarized as follows: the need to critically evaluate implementation and evaluation methods of cultural concepts in the curriculum, [4,9,10,12,15,17,38,39] use of a stand-alone course on culture in the curriculum, [22,30] integration of cultural concepts throughout the curriculum, [12,13,40] use of service learning projects and cultural immersion projects to increase cultural competence, [11,12,[41][42][43][44][45][46][47] lack of qualified faculty members to teach cultural concepts, [23,48] need for course material to adapt to the changing learning needs of students, [45] and international collaboration among teaching institutions to teach cultural competence. [6,35,39,49] While the above note...…”

Cultural Competence in Action: “Lifting the Hood” on Four Case Studies in Medical Education

“…Several features set this collection apart from related recent work by clinical educators (Betancourt 2003(Betancourt , 2006Fung et al 2008;Kripalani et al 2006;Smith et al 2007;Sumpter and Carthon 2011) and anthropologists alike. First, our aim is not to document or propose any specific pedagogical models or ''best practices, '' but Cult Med Psychiatry (2013) 37:241-252 243 rather to present complex, multi-faceted portraits of four long-standing programs whose successes and failings provide valuable insight into the everyday life of ''culture'' in clinical education and clinical research training.…”

“…1 (Betancourt 2003(Betancourt , 2006Bromley and Braslow 2008;Crenshaw et al 2011;Eiser and Ellis 2007;Fung et al 2008;Green et al 2008;Guarnaccia and Rodriguez 1996;Hayes-Bautista 2003;Hershberger et al 2008; Kirmayer 2011Kirmayer , 2012aKripalani et al 2006;Kumaş-Tan et al 2007;Lié et al 2006;Lim and Lu 2008;Lo and Stacey 2008;Núñez 2000;Park et al 2006;Park et al 2009;Shapiro et al 2006;Smith et al 2007; South-Paul and Like 2008; Sue 1998Sue , 2003Sumpter and Carthon 2011;Teal and Street 2009;Tervalon 2003;Tervalon and Murray-Garcia 1998;Wachtler and Troein 2003;Wear 2003;Whitcomb 2003).…”