How much can our universities do in the development of cultural intelligence? A cross-sectional study among health care students

Nursing students' internationalization: Virtual exchange and clinical simulation impact cultural intelligence

BACKGROUND

There is a need for globally competent nurses; however, some cannot train abroad. Internationalization at home strategies seek to teach intercultural and international competencies to all students, regardless of location.

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the impact of a virtual exchange and clinical simulation program on nursing students' cultural intelligence.

METHODS

The Global Nursing Care (GNC) program was designed to improve nursing students' global competencies, particularly cultural intelligence. It was implemented in two universities in Spain and the USA. A quasi-experimental, analytic, and longitudinal study involved 261 nursing students, 57 from the GNC program and 204 in the control group. Sociodemographic data were collected, and the Cultural Intelligence Scale was used to measure cultural intelligence.

DISCUSSION

All cultural intelligence dimensions were augmented following program participation. Moreover, students who participated in the program presented higher cultural intelligence than the control group.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that program participation was associated with a statistically significant gain in nursing students' cultural intelligence.

Intercultural Competence Predicts Intercultural Effectiveness: Test of an Integrative Framework

Why does someone thrive in intercultural situations; while others seem to struggle? In 2014, Leung and colleagues summarized the literature on intercultural competence and intercultural effectiveness into a theoretical framework. This integrative framework hypothesizes that the interrelations between intercultural traits, intercultural attitudes and worldviews, and intercultural capabilities predict the effectiveness with which individuals respond to intercultural situations. An empirically verified framework can contribute to understanding intercultural competence and effectiveness in health care workers, thus contributing to more equity in health care. The present study sets out to test this integrative framework in a specific health care context. Future health care practitioners (N = 842) in Flanders (Belgium) were questioned on all multidimensional components of the framework. Structural equation modeling showed that our data were adequate to even a good fit with the theoretical framework, while providing at least partial evidence for all hypothesized relations. Results further showed that intercultural capabilities remain the major gateway toward more effective intercultural behavior. Especially the motivation and cognition dimensions of cultural intelligence seem to be key factors, making these dimensions an excellent target for training, practical interventions, and identifying best practices, ultimately supporting greater intercultural effectiveness and more equity in health care.

Open-mindedness trait affects the development of intercultural communication competence in short-term overseas study programs: a mixed-method exploration

BACKGROUND

Overseas study trips can enhance healthcare students' intercultural communication competence. An opportunity to immerse in the new culture enables them to develop their ability to offer services to people from different countries. However, the role that open-mindedness (i.e., a personality trait) can play in this process has not been explored.

METHODS

The present study adopted a mixed-method design to identify how open-mindedness trait affected this overseas learning process. Thirty-two undergraduate healthcare students in Australia took part in the study. Questionnaires, which measured socio-demographic information, intercultural communication competence and open-mindedness trait were administered to the participants before and after their overseas trip. Half of the participants (n = 16) were interviewed after the overseas trip.

RESULTS

The correlational analysis showed that the open-mindedness trait was correlated with cultural skills, a component of intercultural communication competence, but not significant with the other three components. Three themes emerging from the qualitative data indicated that the open-mindedness trait affected students' cultural exposure. This trait enabled participants to be actively involved in the immersion in the local culture. They were willing to learn from peer fellows, and keen to embrace novel challenges.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that open-mindedness trait is vital for increasing cultural immersion, and hence promote intercultural communication skills.

Cultural Competence in Healthcare Leadership Education and Development

Cultural competence is a phenomenon that straddles many disciplines and fields of study. There is no settled definition of the term, and it is argued that this is not necessary to explore or discuss the phenomenon as it is context-dependent across diverse societies. Explorations of cultural competence in clinical education and training are well-established, but there has been less attention towards its expression in the field of developing healthcare leaders. There is a debate about whether cultural competence is best achieved primarily through training-based educational inputs or by being infused in all areas of curriculum development. Using an exploration of selected literature followed by the case of an ambitious set of leadership development programmes in the English National Health Service, this paper explores the balance and interdependencies of cultural competence in healthcare leadership development as knowledge, skills and attitudes. The paper concludes that it is important for educators in this field to provide space for reflection, develop skills of reflexivity and facilitate sensitive discussions of sometimes contested ideas and concepts. A further evaluation of the impact of teaching and learning interventions, while mapping developments in perceptions of knowledge, skill and attitudes would be an area ripe for future research.

Improvement in the Cognitive Aspects of Cultural Competence after Short-Term Overseas Study Programs

Universities are providing short-term overseas study programs for healthcare students to increase their cultural competence (i.e., capacity to work effectively in cross-cultural situations). However, there is limited empirical research evaluating the effects of these programs using well-controlled research designs. In the present research study, undergraduate healthcare students in an Australian university were selected as participants. Group 1 (n = 32) participated in a short-term overseas study program in Asia (i.e., China, Vietnam, Singapore, and Taiwan), whereas Group 2 (n = 46) stayed in Australia to continue their university education as usual. All participants completed a self-developed demographic questionnaire, Cultural Intelligence Scale, and Multicultural Personality Questionnaire. Cultural competence was surveyed pre- and post-short-term overseas programs. After controlling for prior overseas experiences and the open-mindedness trait, an ANCOVA indicated that Group 1 had a significantly higher scores than Group 2 in cultural knowledge (p < 0.05), but not in cultural awareness, attitude, or skills. It is suggested that short-term overseas study programs may increase healthcare students’ cultural knowledge, a component of competence, and that more needs to be accomplished to improve other areas of cultural competence.