Hawaii Nurse - May 2021

May, June, July 2021 Hawaiʻi Nurse • Page 7
Student Nurses Page
must include “cultural, ethnic, and socially diverse
concepts and may also include experiences from
regional, national, or global perspectives” (ACEN,
2020, p. 4). The ambiguity of this statement,
therefore, allows each institution to interpret it
individually. This lack of an explicit mention of
LGBTQIA+ content may be a reason why schools, like
my own, spend minimal time on such topics.
This lack of adequate preparation in academia
may cause students to feel unprepared when they
are faced with patients identifying as LGBTQIA+,
impacting the level of comfort they feel in caring
for this population. In fact, 85% of nursing students
claimed that their pre-licensure institutions did
not prepare them to work with this specific patient
population (Carabez et al., 2015). Yet, those who are
seasoned in the healthcare field, such as students
in the RN to BSN pathway, may feel more confident
than first-time BSN students who are new to the
sector. This was demonstrated in a study conducted
by Cornelius and Carrick (2015) discovering more
positive attitudes exhibited by RN to BSN students
when caring for LGBTQIA+ patients, than those in
the traditional BSN route. By providing opportunities
for students to gain more experience with sexual
minority groups, an increase in positive behaviors
can be evoked, and culturally competent care can be
achieved (Strong & Folse, 2015).
A logical solution to solving this deficiency
would be to simply add relevant information
to a nursing program curriculum. However, the
knowledge and readiness of the faculty may act
as an obstacle from doing so. Lim et al. (2015)
found that although 79% of educators were
interested in incorporating inclusive content in
their classes, 43% felt their knowledge in the area
was limited. Faculty described factors such as
the lack of developmental sessions and guidance,
along with the environment of the institution in
regard to curriculum structure, department power
dynamics, and religious affiliation hindering them
from delivering adequate LGBTQIA+ knowledge to
their students (Cornelius & Carrick, 2015; Lim et
al., 2015). These issues seem to be rooted in the
structure of the education system, indicating that
changes also need to be made on an institutional
level for successful outcomes.
Strength of the Evidence
Most of the research studies mentioned above
were found to have high statistical significance and
generalizability. The studies had p values ranging
from