Community Engaged Partnership to Enhance Nursing Student Cultural Humility and Competence: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Equity
• Cultural Competence in Healthcare

Background:

• Nurses play a crucial role in patient care, significantly impacting health outcomes.
• Integrating cultural humility and competence is vital for improving patient health and reducing health disparities.
• Existing curricula may lack sufficient experiential learning opportunities in culturally relevant care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel clinical rotation for nursing students.
• To implement a community-engaged approach focused on health equity for Latinx clients.
• To assess the impact of the rotation on students' cultural humility and multicultural caring competence.

Main Methods:

• A sixteen-week clinical rotation was established at a community organization.
• The rotation emphasized culturally relevant nutrition education for Latinx clients.
• Students completed validated questionnaires, including Foronda's Cultural Humility Scale and the Nurses' Multicultural Caring Competence Scale (NMCCS).

Main Results:

• A trend towards increased cultural humility was observed in students post-rotation.
• Experiential learning opportunities were identified as critical for enhancing student learning experiences.
• The community-engaged approach facilitated valuable partnerships between academia and community services.

Conclusions:

• Community-engaged partnerships between nursing schools and organizations offer mutual benefits.
• This model enhances nursing students' practical skills in providing culturally sensitive care.
• Improved cultural competence among nurses can lead to better patient outcomes and reduced health inequities.