Comparison of four cultural competence models in transcultural nursing: A discussion paper

Globalization has brought about tremendous changes to societies around the world. Increased immigration has led to increasing diversity among patients, making culturally congruent healthcare an absolute necessity. Like all healthcare fields, nursing is expected to adopt a global practice of culturally congruent care. Thus, nurses must acquire an in-depth understanding of cultural beliefs, practices, and differences, thus developing a practice of avoiding premature generalizations. Cultural competence models have and will continue to play a crucial role in making nursing practice more efficient and effective. The aim of this paper is to describe and discuss four wellknown cultural competence models in the nursing literature. These models have enhanced nursing care delivery to diverse populations by providing a means to overcome difficulties and challenges when dealing with culturally diverse patients. Ultimately, cultural care models encourage culturally competent care for patients belonging to different cultures by helping nurses become more understanding and adaptive to various circumstances, and better able to apply culturally-focused interventions. This paper reflects on the impact of cultural competence nursing education on patient care.