An Intercultural Understanding Course to Introduce Cultural Competence to Nursing Students

Cultural competence acquisition in the face of globalization is of vital importance for nursing students. The rapidity of cultural change is a pressing concern for nursing professionals who aim to provide the best care to all individuals in need of health care. Japan is not an exception, not only foreign population has surpassed three million people reaching a historical demographic milestone, but increasing numbers of foreign visitors and medical tourists are seen in medical facilities. Meanwhile, there is no consensus regarding the inclusion of cultural competence related courses in the nursing curricula, and the necessary pedagogical approaches to educate nursing students. In Japan, cultural competence related courses are either absent within nursing curricula or embedded in international and global nursing courses. Some culture related available courses are mostly elective and do not ensure that all nursing students will be prepared to understand and deliver culturally sensitive care. This article presents an overview of the situation of cultural competence education in nursing, with emphasis on Japan, and reports on an intercultural understanding course to promote the acquisition of basic intercultural competencies among Japanese pre-graduate nursing students with the purpose of reflecting on the course teaching contents, activities and approaches to teach cultural competence to nursing students.