Brief write-up
Project objectives
A 4-week culture immersion course, ‘Culture and Nursing’, was developed for undergraduate nursing students to promote cultural competency in providing nursing care for clients of different cultures and positive learning experiences.
Activities, process and outcomes
Sixty nursing students joined the course and were guided to explore the relationship between culture, health and nursing through different learning activities and assessment, including: four 2-hour real-time online cultural exchange discussion with four overseas institutions via ZOOM, one 2-hour virtual field trip in transcultural setting, and four 2-hour multicultural workshops which have been successfully carried out with high attendance and active participation from students.
Deliverables and evaluation
Cultural competency was measured by the Nurse Cultural Competence scale (NCCS) and positive learning experiences were measured by the Student Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ). Paired sample t-tests found significant improvement in post-course NCCS and SEQ scores (p<0.05). Three focus groups were conducted to explore the learning experiences. Content analysis revealed students’ perceptions towards personal and professional growth through the learning activities.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
The project provided valuable information for the future development of course activities and collaboration with different local parties and overseas institutions. The use of video conference and real-time discussion with overseas institutions could be an effective way to promote cultural competency for students and it can be adapted to other health-related disciplines to increase global exposure.
Impact on teaching and learning
Teaching and learning has been improved with the use of practical communication tools and partnership with local and overseas institutions. The project enabled nursing students to achieve learning outcomes in examining the relationship between cultures and nursing practice without travelling abroad.
