Through the eyes of the other: using event analysis to build cultural competence

Cultural competence requires more than the accumulation of information about cultural groups. An awareness of the nurse's own culture, beliefs, and values is considered by several transcultural nursing theorists to be essential to the development of cultural competence and the provision of quality patient care. Using Transformational Learning Theory, this article describes event analysis, an active learning tool that uses the nurse's own practice to explore multiple perspectives of an experience, with the goal of transforming the nurse's approach to diversity from an ethnocentric stance, to one of tolerance and consideration for the patient's needs, values, and beliefs with regard to quality of care. Furthermore, the application of the event analysis to multiple settings, including inpatient, educational, and administrative environments, is discussed.