Nurses with cultural competence and coping with working life: a qualitative study among foreign born Finnish educated registered nurses

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to achieve a deeper understanding and awareness of the significance of nursing education and cultural competence among the Foreign Born Finnish Educated (FBFERN) in Novia University of Applied Sciences (UAS). The method of data collection used is qualitative research to gather the experiences of the participants. The interview method was conducted through facebook messenger in order to reach the Novia alumni participants all over Finland. The theories used to support this study were Patricia Benners theory from novice to expert and Campinha’s Bacotes model of cultural competence in delivery of health care. Three themes, developed from Benner’s theory; Novices, Proficient and Expert nurses. Also, three categories were derived from the previous research: Education, Experience and Cultural Competence. The main results of the study point to language skills and adaptation to the Finnish culture as the main problems experienced by the FBFERN as they move on to working in Finnish Health Care Settings after graduation. This study provides an opening to additional research and new views on the improvement of education in school and cultural competence in the working environment.