Cultural competency of nursing faculty teaching in baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States

Abstract

Background Nursing education has acknowledged that cultural competency should be an educational competency of baccalaureate programs. Although nursing faculty are expected to adequately prepare all nurses to provide culturally competent care for patients, the literature suggests that nurse educators’ low levels of cultural competence contributes to under-preparation of new nurses to provide culturally competent care. Aims The study assessed nursing faculty cultural competence of teaching at a bachelor of science in nursing programs across the United States and identified demographic factors that are associated with that level. Methods Study used descriptive and correlational design through the use of online questionnaires. The study included (N=461) nursing faculty across the United States with a response rate of 23 per cent and included 461. Data were collected using a validated tool namely the “Cultural Diversity Questionnaire for Nurse Educators Revised”. Statistical analysis with means and standard deviation were calculated for all continuous variables. For all aims, results were summarized using regression estimates, p-values, and 95 per cent Confidence Interval (CI per cent). Results The Overall Cultural Competence (OCC) mean=166 indicated that nursing faculty has moderate level of cultural competence. The highest index was Cultural Knowledge Subscale M=43.53, and the lowest index was Cultural Encounter Subscale M=22.50. Regression analysis demonstrated that demographic variables were predictive of the mean score. Transcultural teaching behaviours subscale was considerably low related to the OCC scale, adjusting for all other variables. Conclusion The current study identified previous cultural exposure and cultural education as crucial factors to improve cultural competence. The researchers concluded that faculty cultural training needs to be mandated and should be more inclusive not only of educational material but also to include practice exposure to a diverse population. The training should occur during orientations, practice, and as an annual competency validation.