Conceptualizations of Culture and Cultural Care Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: An Exploration and Critique of Cultural Education

Qualitative Article: Conceptualizations of culture and cultural care among undergraduate nursing students: An exploration and critique of cultural education

The issues of cultural care, as well as culture itself, are being considered as vital concepts when providing care in the health and nursing environment. Nonetheless, various values surround conceptualizations based on the ways in which the two perceptions differ. As such, they have emerged as key concepts subject to broad debate and critical analysis. Regardless of the differences surrounding these ideologies, it has not been possible to incorporate notions of cultural care and culture into educational institutions’ agendas among other health and nursing associations. Nevertheless, there is insufficient information known or subject to criticism, regarding the perspectives or knowledge that undergraduate students attain from these forms of educational encounters (Vandenberg & Kalischuk, 2014).

Research Question

This study aims at questioning whether exploring and criticizing the diverse ideas that nursing student are exposed to when exploring cultural care and culture concepts have considerable influence the knowledge that a student develops towards culture over time.

Study Design

An ethnographic study design was adopted to facilitate the research process. Researchers use this method to help them discover certain activities, conditions, or interactions of participants given particular social perspectives. In this study, the ideas of students pertaining to cultural care as well as culture were evaluated in the perspective of a nursing environment. Data was gathered from two groups including first and fourth-year students pursuing nursing to compare the understandings that learners develop over a given period. The researchers gathered data following two phases, where phase one comprised on observations regarding the learning initiatives of students to facilitate in recording the different forms of experiences the students gathered through nursing education, particularly in the case of cultural care and culture. The second phase emphasized on focus groups and interviews accomplished to gather various ideas pertaining to the ways that student discussions viewed culture (Vandenberg & Kalischuk, 2014).

Results of Data Analysis Procedures

After evaluating the perspectives of the students pertaining to culture and cultural care, the two groups of students who participated in the study demonstrated that culture was commonly affiliated with racial or ethnic groups. Students were not supposed to criticize their perception towards culture nor consider constructivist or critical perspectives of culture. These findings appeared similar to current studies, which reveal that culture deserves to be subjected to further critique and development. In addition, the study revealed that it is possible to maintain essentialist perspective towards culture while learning nursing. For instance, the essentialist perspective was noted to be strong after learners were encouraged to consider cultural texts when learning about diverse cultures. Here, students understood different cultures by considering diverse case studies targeting specific races and ethnicities. This way, students found it possible to explore differences in culture. However, failed to facilitate a critical analysis with regard to the ways culture can be identified (Vandenberg & Kalischuk, 2014).

With regard to cultural care, the study did not give a clear illustration in terms of the ways that students who pursue nursing learn about cultural care, although it revealed vital information regarding the experiences by students. Most of the students were encouraged to gather cultural skills, knowledge, and attitudes, just as many tutors study models governing cultural competency. The instructors and students lay emphasis on essentialist view pertaining to culture. The results showed that the two groups of students portrayed a rise in self-awareness, allowing them to refrain from prejudice, offense, and racism. This study helped students to identify personal biases, even though it ignored political and institutional structures, which play a key role in shaping inequities and health care. However, students in their fourth year of study portrayed increased awareness towards cultural care (Vandenberg & Kalischuk, 2014).

Strengths and Weaknesses of Study

For the qualitative study, its strengths are evident where it increases an individual’s understanding by undertaking an in-depth study of certain groups. This understanding is evident in sociology, cultural studies, human geography, anthropology, and social psychology of a given culture. These have offered a firm foundation pertaining to the quality of the study. Thus, it plays a key role in explaining complex issues, responsive to local situations, and leads to inquiry of further studies concerning why certain phenomenon takes place. By contrast, the weakness of the study is that it is rich in context and full of narratives without sufficient evidence. Additionally, researchers play an active role in the study, meaning that they would be passionate to a certain study forming a form of bias, which pose challenges in terms of identifying the issues taking place. Furthermore, the study targets a small population, indicating that it is inappropriate for analyzing information targeting a large population (Adams, 2012).

Quantitative Article: Nurse staffing and the relationship to job satisfaction and retention

According to this article, the Institute of Medicine in 2004 embarked on releasing a report aimed at recognizing the necessary levels of staffing that would be appropriate in terms of enhancing the safety of patients. The ratio of nurses to patients is a key area of concern in terms of determining the right staffing levels. Thus, it is vital to consider patient perception, as well as a mix of skills that are essential in addressing the issues that affect nurse staffing. Furthermore, the retention and satisfaction issues are dominant in the nursing environment since nurses subjected to inadequate levels of staffing tend to abandon their positions. Thus, embarking on retaining many nurses in the positions they hold plays a key role in allowing a health care organization realize financial sense (Hairr, Salisbury, Johannsson, & Redfern-Vance, 2014).

Research Question

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between nurses’ job satisfaction, staffing, and retention, particularly in a healthcare environment delivering acute care.

Study Design

To