Exploration of Developing Cultural Competencies in Nursing Students through Short-term International Immersion Course

Abstract

Nursing education has an essential role in promoting the development of cultural competencies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as the population in the United States has become increasingly diverse, travel has increased, and global mobility has expanded. Integration of educational strategies into nursing education programs with the goal to develop students' abilities to provide culturally congruent care can be accomplished in a variety of ways including study abroad. Increasingly, nursing programs have responded by offering short-term international experiences such as two week service-learning courses. <p>Gaining an understanding of the value of international nursing experiences for undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula, particularly related to the perceived students' views of cultural competence, is needed. This qualitative ethnonursing study explored a Midwestern USA university's approach in preparing culturally competent undergraduate and graduate nursing students through faculty-led short-term internationoal service-learning courses in Kenya. <p>Madeleine Leininger's culture care theory and the Sunrise Enabler served as a framework for this research to discover how international service-learning courses can contribute to nursing student's views, beliefs and practices for providing culturally congruent care. The experiences of seven undergraduate and five graduate nursing students' participating in one of two international service-learning courses in Kenya in 2009-2010 were examined. The ethnonursing qualitative research method, designed specifically for use with primary data and the culture care theory was adapted to accommodate secondary data analysis. Students' coursework (papers, jouirnals, pictures, presentations, and video) and post-travel survey responses were analyzed to discover students' beiews, beliefs and practices if culturally congruent care and their anticipated application of these cultural competencies in their future nursing careers. <p>The researchers independently and collectively analyzed, coded, and cross-checked the data. Repetition of the same or similar words, phrases, and meanings were identified as the researchers became immersed in the data coding and analysis process which led to the discovery of patterns and themes. Leininger's criteria to evaluate qualitative ethnonursing research studies were used to ensure the rigor of the study. <p>Three major themes were discovered through analysis of the data: expanded self-awareness and world view; professional and generic care reflections; and economic and technological challenges with learned resourcefulness. The results of this study provide support that the development of cultural competencies in nursing students may be enhanced through participation in international service-learning experiences. In addition, this study provides insight as to how international educational experiences may contribute to the practice and discipline of transcultural nursing.