Development of a culturally sensitive rural practicum

Weaving a transcultural thread

This article describes the development and implementation of an educational strategy to enhance knowledge about transcultural nursing in a College of Nursing undergraduate program. Concepts of diversity and transcultural nursing were integrated into the entire undergraduate curriculum. This content was presented over six quarters in seminar courses throughout the undergraduate program. A team of faculty members developed this series of courses called "Nurse and Society" that included cultural diversity, ethics, professionalism, and policy as strands or threads woven through the courses. Based on faculty evaluations at the end of each course, most graduating students were aware of the need to provide culturally congruent care. However, there is a need to develop a sound programmatic evaluation that includes empirical outcomes of cultural competence among graduates.

Effects of educational focus on a graduate nurse's initial choice of practice area

Nursing students have been educated to acquire the skills necessary to practice in different settings. This study examined whether the focus of education (rural or urban) had an effect on the area that the graduate nurse chose to practice in after graduation. To prepare the nursing student for her or his role in rural nursing, one program focused its curriculum on rural health needs. Another nursing program located in an urban area had a traditional educational nursing program with only once community nursing course. A curriculum review was completed to examine whether the curriculum focus of the study programs were consistent with the stated foci. A retrospective study design was used to answer the research questions. Survey instruments were mailed to 379 urban and rural nursing school graduates. The analysis of study results showed that students who attended a nursing program focusing on rural nursing were twice as likely to practice in rural areas than nurses who completed an urban-focused nursing program. Another factor that had an impact on the graduate nurses' choice of practice area was the students' original places of residence.

Promoting transcultural care in a college of health care studies

This article describes the steps taken by the North London College of Health Studies to facilitate the development and delivery of culturally sensitive courses. It suggests that transcultural education for transcultural care can only truly be achieved if the organisational ethos, the epistemology which underpins the curriculum and the way that this is structured and taught, articulate together into a cohesive framework to enable the rhetoric to become reality.

Educational issues in transcultural nursing

Transcultural nursing education is an essential element of the nursing curriculum. There are a number of curriculum designs available but a combination of approaches seems to be the most desirable way forward.