Among the missing: The Experience of Vietnamese American Nursing Students

Non-traditional nursing students, including Vietnamese Americans often face challenges that differ from those of their white counterparts. These challenges have significant impact on academic success and contribute to underrepresentation of minorities in nursing. This study explored the lived experience of 12 Vietnamese American undergraduate nursing students and recent graduates through the use of phenomenologically based interviews. Study participants identified challenges similar to those identified in the literature by other ethnic minority nursing students. Participants experienced a variety of challenges including pressure to succeed in school while providing support for immediate and distant family members, financial hardship, language difficulty, cultural insensitivity, difficulty with socializing with other students, and racism in both academic and clinical settings. Despite significant stress experienced during participants' education, they perceived nursing as a rewarding career that could offer many benefits for themselves and their families. Findings from this study can serve as a springboard for additional research which can promote progress in applying transcultural nursing theory in nursing education