Do newly graduated nurses feel culturally competent?: A descriptive phenomenological study

This research was conducted with a descriptive phenomenological method in order to evaluate the experiences of newly graduated nurses on cultural issues and their perceptions of feeling culturally competent after nursing undergraduate education. A purposive sample of newly graduated nurses was recruited from faculty of nursing at a university in Ankara, Turkey. Students were invited to participate in the study by e-mail, explaining the purpose and procedure. In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 newly graduated nurses. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis. Thematic analysis revealed five themes: "Meaning of cultural competence"; "Learning cultural competence"; "Impact of own culture on nursing practice"; "Not feel culturally competent"; "Language barrier". The findings of this study demonstrated how newly graduated nurses after nursing education, do not feel culturally competent. Besides, the findings underscore the importance of practical training for cultural competent nurses and practical training should be integrated into the curriculum. Thus nurse educators have an important responsibility to integrate learning and teaching approaches that provide opportunities for cultural competence development into the curriculum.