The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46866

Julia J Hindmarsh, MPH, BSN, RN, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, 525 North Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-955-7758, jhind@son.jhmi.edu

Considering the changing demographics of the public for which nurse’s care, nursing education must systematically address the need to develop cultural competency in students. The course Cultural Dimensions of Health Care was designed to challenge students to examine how their own cultural heritage affects the way they view and interact with clients from other cultures. The objective was to go beyond raising a student’s sensitivity to other cultures and toward developing knowledge, attitudes and skills that would transform the student’s ability to communicate and interact with individuals and groups from other cultures. Over its four-year history, weekly-guided student journaling has shown themes, which evidence the development of cultural competency. These themes reflect the effectiveness of the course components of cultural self-assessment, applying nursing models to describe the health beliefs, health seeking behaviors and health practices of various cultural groups and the cultural immersion experience.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the session participants will be able to

• Define cultural competency.
• Assess the contribution of cultural immersion experiences in developing cultural competency.
• Articulate the importance of competency themes in student journaling to measure cultural competency.

Keywords: Nursing Education, Cultural Competency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.