The Use of Talking Circles to Describe a Native American Transcultural Caring Immersion Experience.

BACKGROUND

The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at the Florida Atlantic University is grounded in the Nursing as Caring theory. A transcultural caring immersion experience for nursing students is provided within the tribal community of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees.

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to ascertain descriptions of nursing students' transcultural immersion experience.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive approach was used via the Talking Circle method. The consensual qualitative research analytical approach was used to categorize participant responses.

FINDINGS

Six themes emerged that are consistent with the Nursing as Caring theoretical key concepts: (1) persons are caring as diverse human beings, (2) persons care from a unique cultural perspective moment to moment, (3) persons are whole and complete in the moment when engaging with diverse others, (4) personhood is a process of living with meaningful purpose by diverse persons, (5) personhood evolves while caring for diverse others in nurturing relationships, and (6) connecting nursing as both a profession and a discipline occurs among unique and diverse persons.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from this study reveal the value of providing a transcultural caring immersion experience to students from a Nursing as Caring theoretical perspective.