Caring in the Margins: A Scholarship of Accompaniment for Advanced Transcultural Nursing Practice

Nurses must learn essential skills based in transcultural nursing to address issues of equity and social justice. The development of a model for nursing practice for an urban nurse-led drop-in center for individuals experiencing marginalization provides an opportunity for student nurses to learn transcultural nursing skills that shifts care from acknowledging the need of others to accompanying others on their health journey. The practice model provides the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate nursing students at Augsburg University to de-emphasize tasks and build relationships. Students learn to listen to others' stories and acknowledge their struggles in the margins. Four stages of nursing practice skills, acknowledging others' needs, attending to their struggles, affirming strengths, and ultimately accompanying others, are taught and experienced. At the core of the nursing practice model is the concept of "hospitality." The nursing practice model serves as guide for student nurses to learn to suspend disbeliefs, withhold judgment, and ultimately reduce stereotypes and stigma to offer a safe space for individuals living in the margins seeking care. The future of nursing requires essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes that shift care from need-based care to accompaniment to address health inequities and provide culturally appropriate care.