Assistant Professor Describes Intercultural Sensitivity of Nursing Faculty

Photo Submitted

Karla Larson

Karla Larson, assistant professor of nursing at the University of Arkansas, described her research as the first nationwide study using the Intercultural Development Inventory instrument with nursing faculty in a presentation at a national conference this fall.

Based on her presentation to the Transcultural Nursing Society in Las Vegas, Larson was invited to address more than 300 students and 30 faculty members at Clayton State University in Georgia during the annual Cultural Diversity Conference next April. Clayton State University received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the diversity project.

Larson joined the faculty of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing in the College of Education and Health Professions this fall. The presentation was based on her dissertation at Capella University in Minneapolis.

Nursing faculty must demonstrate awareness and sensitivity in cross-cultural education of nursing students and prepare them to care for the patients who represent the changing demographics of America, according to Larson. She found that subjects she surveyed at institutions around the United States fell on the Intercultural Development Inventory developmental continuum in the minimization phase, indicating the faculty will tend to minimize cultural differences in favor of a “melting-pot” approach to other cultures. The majority feel “good” to “barely acceptable” as being prepared to meet the teaching and learning needs of cross-cultural nursing students. Subjects in this study report having more confidence in the cultural inclusiveness of their curriculum than their textbooks.