Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education- Course Definition and Alignment Table
Cultural Competency in Healthcare
Nursing education is a diverse field that requires periodic assessment and evaluation to determine opportunities for improvement. The MSN program prepares nurses to work in various environments and different populations. Advanced practice registered nurses can work with other professionals or go into independent practice, and cultural competency is vital to help provide care to these populations. This essay proposes a new course on cultural competency in healthcare to be included in the MSN program.
Course Description, Vision, and Rationale
Course Description: The chosen course is cultural literacy in healthcare. The course will introduce the nurses to the various cultures in the world and the differences in these cultures. The course will also explore how they affect health and contribute to healthcare disparities. The course will be taught to students in their early years of learning in classroom settings.
Vision: The vision is to enhance cultural awareness in nurses and bridge the healthcare disparities related to cultural differences.
Rationale: Culture is a major social determinant of health that hinders access to healthcare services and can lead to widespread healthcare disparities (Brock et al., 2019). Exposing MSN students to these cultures will increase their respect for other cultures, provide culturally sensitive care, and ensure they maintain and practice cultural competence as advanced practice registered nurses in different roles. APRNs are respected professionals who are required to exhibit high levels of professionalism, and cultural sensitivity is a prerequisite ().
Course Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, all learners will:
- Describe the role of culture as a social determinant of health and its effects on health
- Describe the importance of cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity
- Demonstrate cultural sensitivity in healthcare decision-making
- Apply culturally sensitive communication skills
- Apply culturally sensitive care when caring for a patient from diverse populations (Brock et al., 2019)
MSN Program
Program Description
The MSN program is the program of choice to embed the course. The program prepares nurses to deliver care to patients in different settings and focuses on health promotion, disease prevention, health restoration (cure and rehabilitation), and risk reduction (Miranda et al., 2018). The program prepares nurses to provide advanced nursing care in mental health, midwifery, ICU, and primary care settings.
Program Outcomes
Upon the completion of the MSN degree program, learners will demonstrate responsibility and accountability to the nursing profession and:
- Utilize scholarly, philosophical, conceptual, and evidence-informed communication with clients during intra- and interprofessional collaborations.
- Model diversity, equity, inclusivity, and social justice practices to enhance health and quality of life
- Model accountability and professional autonomy within an advanced practice role
- Critically examine institutional practices, and challenge systemic values, assumptions, and structures that limit human health.
Alignment Tables
Table One: Learning Objectives to Program Outcomes
| Number | Learning Objectives | Program Outcomes |
| 1 | Apply culturally sensitive communication skills in care delivery | Utilize scholarly, philosophical, conceptual, and evidence-informed communication with clients during intra- and interprofessional collaborations. |
| 2 | Implement culturally sensitive care when caring for patients from diverse populations | Model diversity, equity, inclusivity, and social justice practices to enhance health and quality of life |
| 3 | Demonstrate cultural sensitivity in healthcare decision-making | Model accountability and professional autonomy within an advanced practice role. |
| 4 | Describe the role of culture as a social determinant of health and its effects on health | Critically examine institutional practices, and challenge systemic values, assumptions, and structures that limit human health. |
Table Two: Learning Objectives to External Standards
| Learning Objectives | |||||
| Apply culturally sensitive communication skills | Implement culturally sensitive care when caring for a patient from diverse populations | Demonstrate cultural sensitivity in healthcare decision-making | Describe the role of culture as a social determinant of health and its effects on health | ||
| Learning Objectives to External Standards | |||||
| External Standards
(AACN Competences) |
Competency 3: Promote achievement of safe and quality outcomes of care for diverse
populations |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Competency 5: Participates in continuous cultural competence development. | ✓ | ||||
| Competency 2: Use relevant data sources and the best evidence in providing culturally
competent care |
✓ | ✓ | |||
| Standards of Nursing | By the end of the program, the registered nurse will be able to:
1. Understand and apply the principles of partnership, collaboration and interagency working across all relevant sector |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 2. 1dentify the need for and manage a range of alternative
communication techniques |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Memo
The Master of Science Nursing program prepares nurses to fit in all healthcare institutions globally and serve diverse populations’ health problems. The program entails classroom education and clinical practice experiences and their accompanying evaluations. The program prepares nurses to work independently and with other healthcare providers to improve the nursing profession and healthcare delivery in particular areas (Miranda et al., 2018). Embedding a cultural competency course will help nurses fulfill their roles in diverse populations while maintaining respect for themselves and others (Brock et al., 2019).
The course selected is Cultural Competency in Healthcare. The course will be introduced to junior year students in the MSN program. The course will introduce students to the various cultures and needs of varying populations. Cahn (2020) notes that interprofessional collaboration and cultural competency can help eliminate healthcare disparities.
The course will prepare students to provide care indiscriminately and adequately to different populations they encounter in their specific areas. Brooks et al. (2019) note that culturally sensitive communication is integral for care collaboration and success in care delivery hence the need for the course. It will also help these professionals teach cultural awareness and sensitivity skills to the junior nurses and students under their supervision.
Pre- and post-test studies will help determine the effectiveness of the program. The examinations and feedback from the learners will help determine the efficacy of the education in improving the student’s cultural awareness and their implementation of culturally sensitive care. The learning institution should develop a curriculum that includes the course and prepare the content based on objectives.
The institution should also establish standard evaluation tools to ensure the program is implemented as planned and that it meets the set goals. Teaching the course will increase professionals’ ability to provide care indiscriminately and contribute to the overall efforts to eliminate health disparities related to culture and cultural competency.
References
Brock, M. J., Fowler, L. B., Freeman, J. G., Richardson, D. C., & Barnes, L. J. (2019). Cultural immersion in the education of healthcare professionals: a systematic review. Journal of Educational Evaluation For Health Professions, 16. https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2019.16.4
Brooks, L. A., Manias, E., & Bloomer, M. J. (2019). Culturally sensitive communication in healthcare: A concept analysis. Collegian, 26(3), 383-391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2018.09.007
Cahn, P. S. (2020). How interprofessional collaborative practice can help dismantle systemic racism. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(4), 431-434. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2017-0672
Miranda Neto, M. V. D., Rewa, T., Leonello, V. M., & Oliveira, M. A. D. C. (2018). Advanced practice nursing: a possibility for Primary Health Care?. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 71, 716-721. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2020.1790224