1.
Practice Problem Being one of the largest city hospitals in Brooklyn, Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC) care for racially diverse populations. One of the practice problem identified at my practicum site is the lack of cultural sensitivity and cultural competency among staff in responding to and caring for the unique needs of the individuals with several healthcare needs from various cultural backgrounds. Multiple complaints from the recipients of care (ROC) at KCHC in relation to the staff being rigid on policies and procedures, not showing respect to the clients’ culture and traditions and unsatisfactory Press Ganey scores had identified lack of cultural competence in staff as definitely an issue. Multiple calls to Justice Center in regards to this issue also brought forth a need for corrective actions. Meeting the needs of culturally diverse ROC has always been a challenge and it can only be achieved by preparing the nurses/health care professionals to become culturally sensitive to the needs of the clients they care for. According to Campinha-Bacote (2011), cultural competence is a “continuous learning process, that builds knowledge, skills, and capacity to identify, understand and respect the unique beliefs, values, customs, languages of our clients”. Crawford, Candlin & Roger (2017) stated that becoming culturally competent would help to empower nurses to communicate effectively with their clients, augmenting therapeutic interactions and thus improving health outcomes and patient satisfaction and safety. 2.
Practice Change One of the practice changes I am planning to make is an educational training for nurses and other healthcare professionals in improving staff’s self assessment and cultural sensitivity and competence, compared to current practice. 3. Population The population for my DNP project will be nursing staff/healthcare professionals at KCHC. 4.
InterventionThe DNP project will consist of an evidence-based educational training using Campinha-Bacote Model of the Process of Cultural Competence, which is intended to increase cultural sensitivity and cultural skill of staff. This intervention is within my locus of control as a nurse leader and it is an evidence-based practice change, which is not implemented previously in our facility. 5. ComparisonThe project will include the Cultural Competence Training presentation and subsequent evaluation of the cultural competence training. I will be comparing the effectiveness of the training through a pre-test and post-test format using the tool, Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals-Revised (IAPCC-R), which is a self-assessment tool designed by Campinha-Bacote to measure the level of cultural competence among healthcare professionals (Campinha-Bacote, 2011). 6.
Outcome The desirable outcome of the project is improved cultural competency and cultural sensitivity of staff. The outcome of this project will be measured using Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals-Revised (IAPCC-R). Literature review reveals IAPCC-R as being a frequent choice for research concentrating on health care professionals’ cultural competency, which revealed statistically significant improvements in overall cultural competence from baseline to post-test (Kardong-Edgren, et.al, 2010). Kardong-Edgren, et.
al, (2010) claimed that IAPCC-R has had a widespread review and multiple testing and acceptable reliability and validity. 7. TimingAfter the initiation of the project, a change in the outcome is expected in 8 weeks. 8. FeasibilityThe stakeholders at my facility consider this project as significant and very well needed.
This project is expected to occur within the timeframe of 8 weeks.
