Problem: Nursing faculties face the challenge of teaching culturally competent care within diverse and changing healthcare settings worldwide. Even though there are multiple ways of evaluating knowledge and perceived cultural self-efficacy, measuring actual student performance within clinical settings can be difficult. To enhance the culturally competent care provided by graduates in this school of nursing, an educational template is developed and implemented.

 Population, Sample, Setting, Years: Piloting of the template involved twenty-eight students in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program; further implementation of the template involves 34 students in the 2006-2007 school year. For a required immersion clinical practicum in 2007, four students will participate in a practicum in Zambia; ten students in Taiwan; eight students in Mexico; eight students in India; and four students in rural Alaska and Washington State. An online intercontinental interchange program to enhance teaching/learning between sites and to boost collaboration with a nursing school in Calcutta, India, is used. Study of the template with its measures of student performance and program effectiveness will continue through May, 2009.

 Findings: The education template will be described including outcomes to date. Specific measures of student performance will be discussed.

 Implications: Measuring culturally competent care is complex. This study shows an innovative approach to teach and evaluate cultural competence, geared for cultural competence within community settings worldwide and using the Internet for connectivity between sites.