Culturally Competent Care of LGBT Patients: The NP Experience

Nurse practitioners (NPs) who are culturally competent can enrich patient care, reduce health disparities, and improve health outcomes. Research that examines NP practice as it relates to the culturally competent care of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients has been lacking in the literature. To address this gap, an exploratory qualitative descriptive design was used to explore NP experiences with LGBT patients. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 22 NPs. Inductive analysis was used to identify, analyze, and report themes within the data. Key findings were that LGBT patients were generally not seen as a distinct cultural group with specific health needs and that NP participants were unclear about the definition or principles of cultural competence as it relates to LGBT persons. Most NPs were not using a model of cultural competence to guide their practice. Instead, they utilized strategies that primarily revolved around the development and maintenance of the therapeutic nurse - patient relationship. These findings have implications for patient outcomes, as well as education, practice, and research.