Indigenous nurses and professional education: friends or foes?

Abstract

While the importance of cultural issues in nursing practices has been recognized, little attention has been directed to evaluating to what extent nursing education respects the cultural norms and values of students from diverse populations. A survey was used to explore the educational experiences of 40 Native American nurses. Respondents indicated that cultural content in their education was quite limited, they wanted more cultural content, and sometimes they obtained it from other sources. Many respondents found no support for their cultural identity during their nursing education. Those who did find support found it mainly through student groups, tribal or Native-specific programs, and through informal peer support. Many respondents identified struggles with culture shock and cultural differences, stereotypes and racist attitudes, isolation, and assumptions about their own cultural identity. This study makes an important contribution by bringing voices of indigenous nurses to the attention of the profession and by moving beyond practice wisdom to join with the growing body of research that is adding an empirical dimension to transcultural nursing literature.