Letters to the Editor TO THE EDITOR

Abstract

TO THE EDITORI am writing regarding Cultural Competency Among Nurses with Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees: Implications for Nursing Education (Volume 35, Issue 2, doi: 10.5480/12-834.1) by Nicole Mareno and Patricia L. Eiart. I was intrigued by the finding that cul- tural knowledge did not equate to a statistically significant increase in cultural comfort or skills, which conflicted with previous studies.As nurses, we study other cultures and the nursing implications for communication and care plans surrounding diverse populations. We receive course work that focuses on cultural competence at every level of higher education, and we often complete required courses from our employers on the same subject. Through this study, we learn that this knowledge may not result in greater comfort or skills when working with patients from diverse backgrounds.I would like to expand upon the authors' suggestions for nurse edu- cators and suggest that principles of mindfulness and compassion training be included with cultural competence activities to enhance the process of converting cultural knowledge into something greater and of more value to the patient. I may be oversimplifying, but mindfulness is being pres- ent in the moment, reflective, and self-aware. Mareno and Elart include principles of mindfulness in their suggestions for reflective exercises after participating in educational activities with diverse patient populations.Perhaps mindfulness is how nurses can recognize their own inadequacies in regard to cultural competence; then compassion can be the driving force that will compel nurses to translate their cultural knowledge into greater cultural skill and comfort with diverse patient populations. Compassion is a quality that can be enhanced. Programs like the Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) within the University of California San Diego Health System teach principles of mindful- ness and compassion to health care workers. Other programs, like the Cognitively-based Compassion Training (CBCT) program developed within the Emory-Tibet Partnership, have shown positive measureable results with realizing active compassion in children.Mareno and Hart discovered a lack of a correlation between cultural knowledge and cultural comfort and skill that differed from previous studies. Mindfulness and compassion training, linked with the educational opportunities that the authors describe, may be a way to combine the positive traits of each discipline and bring about a rapid change in the overall competence of the individual nurse. This would then enhance cultural awareness, knowledge, skill, and comfort. These combined efforts may help nurses thoughtfully examine their own cul- tural competence throughout their careers and compel them to seek out learning activities to grow in their cultural comfort and skills. We, as nurses, can seek out mindfulness and compassion training on our own to enhance our abilities to self-examine and care for others, including others who are different from ourselves.Jennifer Joyner, PhD, RN, CMSRNMaternal Child Health Department, Carteret General Hospital Morehead City, NCAUTHORS' REPLYDr. Joyner's suggestion of the use of mindfulness training or compas- sion cultivation training programs to enhance cultural competence is an interesting and creative recommendation for schools of nursing and employers to consider. …