The importance of nurses being culturally competent

The aim of this study is to explore the importance of nurses being culturally competent, especially as our society evolves into an increasingly multicultural society. Cultural competence has become an essential component in the nursing profession and a critical skill all nurses need to encompass in-order to give good quality care for their patients of different backgrounds. This is a literature review study, which was done using inductive content analysis. The theories used were Papadopoulos, Tilkki and Taylor model for developing cultural competence and Allport Gordon’s contact theory. There were two research questions answered with twenty peer-reviewed articles to answer them. Research question no. 1: Why is it crucial to be culturally competent in the nursing profession? Research question no. 2: How is cultural competency taught at universities? The method used to conduct this study was a literature review; Where the articles were collected using different databases provided by the Arcada website. The results for this literary review found that cultural competence necessitates deep knowledge and ability that enhance nurse’s skills in order to cater to the health care needs of diverse population. Recognizing cultural behaviors particularly of a sociocultural nature is crucial in analyzing the impact of cultural beliefs in thinking, reasoning, remembering and problem-solving. Cultural competency among nursing students and nursing professionals is a critical skill that must be taught and learned. One of the most effective ways to do this is for students to engage and interact with individuals from different cultural background than one’s own