Assessment of Patient Safety and Cultural Competencies among Senior Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Abstract

This descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study examined nursing students’ educational experiences on self-reported perceptions of patient safety and cultural competence in terms of curriculum content and learning venues. We performed descriptive analyses and a one-way analysis of variance with a sample of senior-year nursing students (N = 249) attending three state universities in the United States. We used the Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competency Model, the Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation Tool for Nursing Students, and The Cultural Competence Assessment Instrument. Overall, participants reported that patient safety and cultural competencies were addressed in their curricula primarily through classroom activities as opposed to laboratory/simulation or clinical settings. Among the required patient safety knowledge topics, elements of highly reliable organizations were covered the least. For patient safety competency, participants reported higher scores for attitude and lower scores for skill and knowledge. For cultural competency, participants scored much higher for cultural awareness and sensitivity than behavior. There was no statistically significant difference between scores for patient safety and cultural competencies by nursing school. The results support the need for curriculum development to include all important aspects of patient safety and cultural competencies in various teaching/learning venues.

Culturally safe interventions in primary care for the management of chronic diseases of urban Indigenous People: a scoping review

“…In this scoping review, several interventions were in the form of educational interventions aimed not only at patients but also at healthcare professionals that lack training in cultural safety. This observation is in line with the literature 50 51. One of the key aspects of improving cultural safety in the delivery of care and services in primary care is the development of cultural competency of caregivers 52–54.…”

Patient safety educational interventions: A systematic review with recommendations for nurse educators

“…The findings may indicate that patient safety education as a part of nursing education is insufficient in its current form (Lee, Dahinten, et al., 2020 ). To provide safe patient care, nursing students must learn patient safety principles (Bedgood & Mellott, 2018 ) and socio‐cultural aspects of patient safety (Ginsburg et al., 2012 ; Lee, Lee, et al., 2020 ). However, much academic teaching continues to focus on individual clinical issues such as fall prevention, inflection control or medication safety, as opposed to a focus on systems‐level challenges, such as workplace design or human factors that are required for nursing students to develop the critical reasoning and clinical skills that will improve patient safety (Lee, Dahinten, et al., 2020 ; Mansour, 2012 ; Roh, 2019 ).…”

Nursing students’ experience of learning cultural competence

“…According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN) [ 25 ], patients have the right to culturally and clinically appropriate care in order to ensure best patient outcomes. However, preparing nurses to provide safe and culturally competent nursing care requires significant education and training [ 26 , 27 ]. Thus, the means of providing safe and culturally competent quality care should be central components of nursing education [ 7 , 28 ].…”

“…As future qualified nurses practicing in an ever growing and changing multicultural society, European student nurses must be equipped with essential knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that allow them to provide culturally mindful, safe and equitable care for all. Yet, little is known about how student nurses learn and experience cultural differences (and similarities) both at college and in practice [ 26 , 32 ]. It is important to understand these experiences and perceptions in order to adapt nursing curricula to the student nurses’ learning needs.…”