Nurses' descriptions of caring for culturally diverse clients

The nursing profession has responded to today's cultural diversity through theory development, association statements, research, and inclusion of cultural content in nursing curricula. This qualitative study was completed to explore whether this increased attention to cultural diversity is resulting in culturally sensitive nursing care. In this preliminary description of cross-cultural care, eight recently graduated nurses were each interviewed twice. Caring for culturally diverse clients is reflected by these participants as complex and challenging, due to the interrelatedness of multiple personal and contextual factors. Nurses' commitment to caring for culturally diverse clients varies, ranging from "resistant" to "generalist" to "impassioned." Contextual factors include the setting of health care, the support of colleagues, the institutional climate, the foundation of education, and the presence of racism. Despite the nursing profession's attention directed toward issues of cultural diversity, it seems that the goal of culturally sensitive care remains a distant ideal.