Culturally competent nursing modules (CCNMs): Enhancing patient-centered care

Nurses spend more time in patient care than any other group of health professionals, and as such have the opportunity to improve the quality of care and health outcomes for all patients, particularly those at risk for racial and ethnic health disparities. As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, confronting and eliminating health disparities grows progressively more urgent.

To equip nurses with tools needed to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services developed the Culturally Competent Nursing Modules (CCNMs). The CCNMs are an accredited, online curriculum based upon the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Healthcare (CLAS) and are designed to enhance nurses' abilities to provide patient-centered care.

The CCNMs are part of OMH's portfolio of cultural competency curricula. The CCNMs build upon an initial educational product, the Cultural Competency Curriculum Modules (CCCMs) for physicians, and have been tailored for the specific needs and practices of the nursing community. The curriculum provides video case studies depicting patient-nurse interactions that illustrate and reinforce cultural competency concepts. The three themes of the CLAS standards serve as the framework for this program and include: Culturally Competent Care, Language Access Services, and Organizational Supports. Theme One focuses on strategies for delivering culturally competent nursing care, including knowledge and skill-centered approaches for patient-centered care. Theme Two presents effective communication techniques and tools for delivering language access services. Tools and resources to support nurses in advocating and promoting culturally competency in their organizations are offered in Theme 3.

Scheduled to launch March 2007, the CCNMs were designed with the busy nurse in mind. Users may access the curriculum ‘anytime, anywhere' and can complete the program individually via the Web or in group settings using a DVD supplement. The curriculum utilizes learning tools such as ‘Fast Facts,' ‘Stories from the Front Line,' ‘Cultural Insights,' and ‘Pulse Points' to keep users' interest and reinforce learning points.

At the time of the APHA Annual Meeting, statistics and feedback collected since the March 2007 program launch will be available for presentation and discussion.