Using a Low-Fidelity Simulation to Enhance Cultural Awareness and Emotional Intelligence in Nursing Students

Undergraduate didactic nursing leadership courses lack experiential opportunities to address working with culturally diverse populations. The authors used Bafa Bafa©, a cross-cultural low-fidelity simulation, to further develop critical thinking and emotional intelligence skills in prelicensure nursing students. This article describes the authors' experiences of integrating this innovative teaching strategy in the classroom to increase cultural awareness. The students' discovery of unexpected feelings, thoughts, and perceptions has the potential to extend beyond the simulated experience when coupled with faculty reinforcement of engaging in self-reflective practice as a professional nurse.