Nursing educators' experiences of cultural competence in the nursing education program: A qualitative descriptive study

Background: To meet the population's increasing diversity and the health system's needs, it is necessary to prepare nursing schools to produce culturally qualified students.

Purpose: This study aimed to extract the experiences of nursing educators about the cultural competence of nursing students.

Method: In this qualitative descriptive study, data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 nursing educators affiliated with three medical sciences universities in southeastern Iran. Purposive data sampling and analysis were performed using Graneheim and Lundman's conventional content analysis methods.

Results: One main theme, 5 categories, and 18 subcategories were extracted. The main theme was "cultural equality, the essence of care and education". Categories included "Toward culturally-based caring and education", "Charter of cultural rights", "The need for cultural competence facilitators", "Cultural exposure", and "Modifying the curriculum policies".

Conclusion: This study shows that nursing educators strive to take into account students' cultural competence, even though cultural competence is not explicitly integrated into nursing curricula. The acquisition of cultural competence requires multifaceted changes in education, in clinical centers, and in the creation of cultural infrastructure.