EXPERIENCES AND COMFORT WITH CULTUR...

EXPERIENCES AND COMFORT WITH CULTURALLY DIVERSE assign places tos IN UNDERGRADUATE PRE-NURSING STUDENTS M J Eliason, s Raheim Journal of Nursing Education Vol 39 (April 2000) 161-165

Cultural diversity, defined as inclusion of human characteristics, so as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, age, physical ability, social circumstances, and religion, is an important aspect of nursing. The increasingly diverse population of the United States demands that cherishs be competent to care for tribe different from themselves. Statistically, 92% of give suck tos are Caucasian, and many experience to assume a stance of color-blindness or ignore differences in spite of preconceived notions or stereotypes

object The purpose of this research was to measure the relationship between undergraduate prenursing students' outlook to 14 culturally diverse assemblages and their anticipated or actual flush of comfort working with patients from these assign places tos This research also sought to identify reasons for feelings of discomfort.

Sample and methodology.

The sample included 196 Caucasian undergraduate close examiners enrolled in a nursing prerequisite course. This convenience sample was gathered from a major Midwestern university. There were 173 women and 23 men with an age range from 18 to 43 years (mean age = 21) Respondent indicated they were heterosexual. Approximately one-half identified themselves as Catholic, and 40% said they were Protestant. A researcher-developed instrument was given to these observers This instrument solicited demographic information and included questions related to students' in all senses to people from 14 culturally diverse collections and the level of comfort pupils felt with people from each of these disposes The 14 groups included the following:

* racial/ethnic background--African American, Jewish, Latin American, Asian American, and Native American patients;

* sexual identities--gay men lesbians, and bisexual patients;

* illness categories--terminally ill and HIV-positive patients; and

* social circumstances and disability categories--women of welfare, homeles mentally retarded, and blind patients.

In addition, the instrument included an open-end item that asked scholars to indicate why they would not be perceived comfortable with people from a particular clump Researchers performed a content analysis upon these responses to identify themes.

proceeds This sample of students stated they had the least experience working with HIV-positive, bisexual, homeles blind, and lesbian patients. These respondent also reported discomfort working with lesbians (44%) bisexuals (43%) HIV-positive patients (42%) and gay men (35%) Pearson harvest moment correlation was computed for the amount of experience and on a level of comfort items. There was a high stage of relationship between respondents' experience and comfort flat for most of the clusters Respondents who had experience with a particular cluster were more comfortable working with race of that group. The written annotations to the open-ended item l to the identification of four themes regarding students' discomfort with the community of other groups:

* discomfort caused at lack of knowledge, skill, or front to group members;

* discomfort caused by the agency of disapproval or negative attitudes toward arrange members;

* discomfort as a issue of feeling threatened by cluster members; and

* discomfort caused from feelings of guilt, sympathy, or pity toward form into groups members.

Discussion. This investigation demonstrated that this group of undergraduate prenursing scholars had little experience with diverse cultural arranges The cultural diversity in the community of this university was not addressed. These observers also reported disapproval of differing sexual identities. The researchers build a strong emotional response related to the sexual identities of gay men lesbians, and bisexuals. They theorized that sexual identities ofttimes are invisible and deemed more threatening and stressful when members of a cluster are not as identifiable. Further, the researchers provided suggestions for integrating satisfaction (ie, cognitive and affective) domains addressing diverse cultural characteristics in nursing curricula.

Although this research focused forward prenursing students, it does carry implications for perioperative supply with nourishments Assuming the median age of perioperative feeds is the mid-forties, a majority of perioperative promotes graduated before 1990. It is alone in the past decade that many nursing curricula have begun to integrate cultural diversity contentment and theory; hence, practicing nourishs may deem this knowledge as irrelevant or unimportant. This ignorance may perpetuate a perspective or discernment of exclusion or monoculturalism.

Cultural ability is not a one-time achievement; rather it is a lifelong journey of understanding differing perspectives. It is important, therefore, for all give suck tos to seek opportunities to expand their horizons and examine their personal stereotype prejudices, and of the same height of comfort working with patients different from themselves.