Effects of a cultural nursing course to enhance the cultural competence of nursing students in Korea

PURPOSE: With Korea’s recent rapid change into a multicultural society, cultural competence is being emphasized as a core nursing competency. This study investigated the effects of a cultural nursing course that aimed to enhance the cultural competence of nursing students in Korea. METHODS: This was a single-group pre- and post-comparison study. The subjects were 69 nursing students at Dongyang University who attended a cultural nursing course in 2015, of whom 62 students responded to the survey. The 13-week cultural nursing course was held for 2 hours a week. The methods of the course included small group activities, discussions and presentations, experiential learning, reflective activities, and lectures. Nursing students’ cultural competence was measured pre- and post-course with the Cultural Competence Scale for Korean Nurses, which contains 33 items scored on a 7-point Likert scale. RESULTS: After completing the cultural nursing course, students’ total cultural competence scores increased, as did their scores in each category (cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and cultural skills) (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in cultural competence by gender (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: This cultural nursing course was found to be effective in enhancing the cultural competence of nursing students. Therefore, the educational program developed in this study can be extended to other university-level nursing programs in Korea.