Paper
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Evidence to Support the Impact of a Brief Transcultural Experience on Graduate Nurses: Results of a Pilot Study
Barbara R. McClaskey, PhD, RNC and Cheryl K. Giefer, PhD, FNP-C. Nursing, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS, USA
| Learning Objective #1: verbalize the impact of a transcultural experience on a graduate nurse's transition into professional nursing practice. |
| Learning Objective #2: describe the influence of a transcultural experience on development of culturally sensitive care. |
Based on the cultural diversity within many countries throughout the world, including the United States, and with the mobility of many in the nursing profession, nurses need to as prepared as possible to provide culturally sensitive and competent care. The purpose of this study was to assess the cultural knowledge and attitudes of recent graduate nurses who had participated in a brief transcultural health care experience as nursing students. The setting for the experience was a hospital located in Juarez, Mexico, that served the poor living near the United States-Mexico border. Students from the United States observed and assisted on the following units: labor/delivery, pediatrics, nursery, postpartum, outpatient area and emergency care. The research design of this study was a pilot longitudinal study and data analysis included descriptive and comparative statistics. The Culture Shock Inventory was administered before and after the experience. The Inventory has factor scores which include: lack of Western ethnocentrism, cultural experience, cognitive flex, behavioral flex, cultural knowledge-specific, cultural knowledge-general, cultural behavior, and interpersonal sensitivity. Students had higher scores on the post-test as compared to the pre-test in all but one of the subscales. Approximately one year after the experience the novice nurses were also asked to share their thoughts on whether the experience had an impact on their transition into professional nursing practice. The nurses reported an increased knowledge of health and nursing in another culture and an ongoing empathy for clients who seek health care in an environment in which they do not speak the language. This brief transcultural experience was reported to be beneficial to this group of nurses as they transitioned into professional nursing practice.