Comparison of self-perceived cultural competencies among student nurses / The Health Sciences Journal

ABSTRACT

Introduction@#Healthcare with its rapidly changing environment dictates that future professional nurses must demonstrate clinical and cultural competencies that meet the demands of relevant and quality nursing care. This study aimed to compare the cultural competency of students in the different year levels of the College of Nursing.@*Methods @#This comparative study identified, analyzed, and explained the differences in the cultural competency of Level 1 to Level 4 students in the UERMMMCI College of Nursing in 2016. The mean scores of the different year levels in the Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire were compared.@*Results @#The mean scores for knowledge, skills and attitude were 3.2, 3.4 and 3.6, respectively. There was no significant difference across year levels in any of the three domains. Race/ethnicity and length of stay in a foreign country was significantly associated with skills (p < 0.01) in Level 3 and Level 4 nursing students. Length of stay in a foreign country was significantly associated with attitude (p = 0.02) among freshmen nursing students.@*Conclusion @#There is no significant difference in the overall cultural competence and in the knowledge, skills and attitude in cultural competence of nursing students across year levels.