Nurse Cultural Competence:  Essential Training for Novice Nurses

Nurse educators and preceptors shape the minds and practices of novice nurses. A critical aspect of this is teaching cultural competence or cultural humility, which can help both beginner nurses and those they care for. 

Consider the case of a Spanish-speaking patient who needs an interpreter, a Muslim patient observing Ramadan and fasting, or a young adult undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Nurses can provide more effective and compassionate care by understanding and respecting their diverse cultural and social needs. 

Patient-centered care cannot be achieved without the skills of cultural competence. Like a jigsaw puzzle, each puzzle piece (values, beliefs, and practices) of an individual must be scrutinized within the context of its uniqueness in order to enjoy the pictorial masterpiece of the final product.

What is Cultural Competence/Humility?

Cultural competence is a fundamental skill for healthcare professionals, particularly nurses. It enables effective interaction with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. Nurse Journal defines cultural competence as the ability to navigate and communicate sensitively across cultural boundaries, fostering trust and understanding in healthcare settings.

Encountering diverse patients is an inevitable part of the nursing profession and one of its most rewarding aspects. Interacting with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds that may differ from a nurse's own is part of the patient care experience. 

The Significance of Cultural Competence/Humility

Data shows that racial and ethnic minority groups throughout the U.S. experience higher rates of illness and death across a wide range of health conditions when compared to their white counterparts. Of course, institutional policies and procedures play a huge role in this, and nurses can also play a part in moving toward better outcomes. 

Cultural competence is pivotal in enhancing patient outcomes and fostering trust. Research consistently shows that nurses trained in cultural competence exhibit improved communication skills, leading to better patient compliance, satisfaction, and overall health outcomes. Beyond clinical benefits, cultural competence also promotes inclusivity and equity in healthcare delivery, ensuring that every patient receives respectful and tailored care.

How Can You Teach A  Novice Nurse to Have Cultural Competence/Humility?

While nurses aren’t the only ones responsible for ensuring all patients get the care they need, they are at the front lines. Here are some ways nurses can care for diverse patients.

Help Them Get Training to Educate Themselves

Ideally, a workplace would provide education and training on caring for diverse populations. If this isn’t the case, it’s worth encouraging them to seek out CE credits that focus on cultural competence.

• The Office of Minority Health offers free training: Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Nursing. 

Books are also an option:

• Papdopoulos, I. (2018). Culturally competent compassion: A guide for healthcare students and practitioner. Routledge Publishing.
• Fadiman, A. (2012). The spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Offer training if you have the power to do so, such as if you’re a nurse educator teaching nursing students in an institution or a preceptor and can include CE-credited training.

Encourage Self-Reflection to Address Biases

Any real change in oneself has to come with self-reflection. Recognizing one's own cultural background and inherent biases enables nurses to deliver unbiased and equitable care to all patients.

Offer Mentorship and Support

Mentorship plays a vital role in nurturing cultural competence. As an experienced nurse, you can provide guidance, share insights, and offer practical advice on navigating cultural nuances in patient care. Peer support groups and professional networks also serve as valuable platforms for learning and sharing experiences.

Help Cultivate Active Listening & Humility

Effective communication in healthcare hinges on active listening and humility. You can encourage novice nurses to approach each patient interaction with openness and a willingness to learn. Encouraging when mistakes inevitably happen, such as using incorrect pronouns or cultural references, that they should be acknowledged promptly and respectfully corrected to maintain trust and rapport.

Offer the Opportunity to Practice in Virtual Reality

Practicing in UbiSim’s immersive virtual reality platform offers a unique advantage for recently graduated nurses. Virtual scenarios simulate diverse patient encounters—ranging from cultural, ethnic, and social diversity to complex medical conditions—providing a safe environment to practice therapeutic communication and decision-making. This hands-on experience builds confidence and competence in handling real-world challenges with sensitivity and professionalism.

Final Thoughts

Until we recognize our patients' uniqueness, we will never achieve our intended goal of effective patient-centered care.

Incorporating cultural competence into the training of novice nurses is not just beneficial but essential. By providing them with the tools, training, and support needed to understand and respect diverse patient backgrounds, we equip them to deliver more effective, compassionate, and equitable care. 

Cultural competence/humility isn’t a one-time learning experience but a journey over time.