Assessment of cultural competence in Texas nursing faculty.

BACKGROUND

Cultural competence [CC] is an essential component of nursing education and nursing practice yet there is a gap in the research evaluating CC in faculty and how to practically develop this skillset for faculty members.

OBJECTIVES

To explore CC in faculty as evaluated with the Nurses' Cultural Competence Scale [NCCS] and apply the findings to the Purnell Model of Cultural Competence [PMCC] to guide professional development opportunities for faculty members.

DESIGN

This was a concurrent mixed-methods study.

SETTING

Faculty members teaching in Texas nursing programs were recruited for the study. Quantitative data was collected using an online survey tool and qualitative data was collected over the phone.

PARTICIPANTS

89 Texas faculty members completed the quantitative strand and a subset of 10 faculty members completed the qualitative strand.

METHODS

Descriptive statistics were used to examine the quantitative data and Strauss and Corbin's methodology guided the evaluation of the qualitative data. These two strands were used to support the results.

RESULTS

Faculty in Texas are moderately culturally competent. The qualitative findings support the application of the PMCC to the areas identified by the NCCS.

CONCLUSION

The PMCC may be applied to the application of culture and values in nursing professional education as supported by the NCCS. Recommendations are to include the PMCC as a structure for the creation of professional development opportunities for faculty.