Cultural Competence: An Issue For Education

The population in the United States is progressively taking on a new appearance. Cultural and racial groups are consistently experiencing dramatic increases in population status. International migrants are entering our borders in record numbers in hopes to build brighter futures for themselves and forthcoming generations. If current demographic trends continue, by the end of the 21st century, non-Hispanic Whites will no longer represent the mainstream population. In the midst of changes in our population come changes in the spectrum of health care consumers. Minority populations are known to experience higher rates of illness, disease, disability, and mortality. Considering these factors, it can be concluded that minority groups constitute a substantial percentage of health care patrons. Therefore, it is critical for all schools of nursing to focus on the topic of diversity throughout curricula. In order to graduate nursing students who are prepared to deliver culturally competent services in professional health care vocations, it is essential for educators to provide students with abundant opportunities in nursing programs to expand their knowledge and understanding of intercultural differences, strengthen intercultural abilities, and heighten their personal awareness of diverse cultures. For the purposes of this study, levels of self-reported cultural competence among sophomore, junior, and senior nursing students, as well as nursing faculty members at Kent State University at Stark College of Nursing (KSU-S CON) will be evaluated. Thus, the following research questions will be assessed: How effective do sophomore nursing students, junior nursing students, senior nursing students, and nursing faculty feel they are in delivering competent care to patients of diverse backgrounds? Furthermore, could the KSU-S CON improve the current educational nursing curricula by developing a more extensive domain devoted to transcultural nursing?

Name thesis:degree_name

BS

Level thesis:degree_level

bachelors

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of Nursing

Grantor dc:publisher

Kent State University Honors College

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Bradley, Erin Nicole

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lazaroff, Eldora

• Nursing
• cultural competence
• education
• culture
• care
• transcultural curriculum
• diversity
• nursing students
• nursing faculty

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1303749360

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ksuhonors1303749360