A Virtual Exchange Educational Intervention to Enhance Cultural Competence, Leadership, and Global Citizenship in Nursing Education

Background: Effective healthcare delivery relies on nurses’ ability to communicate effectively with patients, families, and colleagues from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Virtual exchange can overcome geographic barriers and create opportunities for collaborative learning. Graduate nursing students from Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States participated in an innovative virtual exchange educational intervention focused on cultural competence, leadership, and global citizenship.

Aim: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effects of a virtual exchange educational intervention on transcultural self-efficacy and perceptions of cultural competence while enhancing opportunities for global citizenship.

Methods: A pretest-posttest design was used to recruit 23 graduate nursing students from six universities worldwide. Two structured questionnaires, including measures of Transcultural Self-Efficacy and Cultural Competence, were administered. Qualitative data were collected through participants' written reflections. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using secure Qualtrics surveys.

Results: Among the 14 participants who completed both the pretest and posttest Transcultural Self-Efficacy survey, perceived transcultural self-efficacy increased significantly following the workshop (t(13)=-3.02, p=0.010). Similarly, among the 16 participants who completed both the pretest and posttest Cultural Competence survey, perceived cultural competence increased significantly (t(15)=-2.31, p=0.035). Thematic analysis identified three key themes: cultivating leadership skills, increasing awareness of cultural competence, and fostering global citizenship in nursing.

Conclusion: Virtual exchange expands opportunities for nurses to enhance transcultural self-efficacy and cultural competence while developing leadership skills for global citizenship. This educational intervention, which focused on cultural competence, leadership, global citizenship, and transcultural self-efficacy, proved effective.

Keywords: Cultural competence, educational intervention, global citizenship, graduate nursing education, virtual exchange