Journal of Transcultural Nursing 23(2) 198 –204 © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permission:

Issues associated with health care delivery in the United States have been central to political debates and agendas, policy, economic projections, news, and conversations across the nation for the past decade. One of the most critical of issues is health care disparities. Among the multiple fac-tors contributing to disparities is the lack of a diverse and culturally competent health care workforce. The Institute of Medicine (2002) identifies a close linkage between cultural competence and quality of care; thus, it is considered an issue across all health care systems. Health professions edu-cation can address health care disparities by infusing diverse graduates into the workforce and improving the cultural competence of its graduates (Calvillo et al., 2009). Delivering culturally competent care is a fundamental expectation of the professional nurse (American Nurse