Title : Cultural competency in nursing education: Achieving excellence & overcoming the obstacles
Abstract:
Background: The change in the mode of communication and traveling gave birth to the concept of cultural competency; cultural competency is defined as the ability to interact effectively with individuals from different cultures. While competent cultural care is vital to nurses working in any healthcare setting, it is often forgotten in nursing academia, yet the nursing profession encompasses nurses from various background. Aim: The purpose of this abstract is to discuss methods used to design a culturally sensitive and competent graduate program to meet the needs of predominate foreign students that were enrolled. Method: To create a culturally competent hybrid graduate program an evidence-based approach was used. The curriculum was designed to meet the needs of nurses/students who work and may have more than one jobs. The syllabi were develop using ACEN & SACS standards and the DNP Essentials. Also, graphics reflecting the theme of the weeks were added to the syllabi that correlate with the weeks of the Moodle Room online platform. Each student has a mentor that is doctorally prepared with English as a second language, who checks in on the student progress on a weekly basis. Software such as Turnitin, and Grammarly were made available to the DNP students. Professors teaching in the graduate program were trained in teaching culturally diverse students. Results: The results showed significant improvement in the students’ quality of work when compared to the curriculum that was not cultural sensitive and competently designed. Conclusion: These findings support the need to incorporate cultural sensitivity & competency in nursing education. While the results were favorable, further research is needed in this area. Implications: According to the Institute of Medicine recommendations, more emphasis should be placed on increasing the number of Doctoral prepared nurses; building a program that is culturally sensitive will allow more nurses the opportunity to overcome the obstacles and fears that prevent them from seeking an advanced degree while increasing the number of nurses with a doctoral degree by 2020.
