Acculturation Into Nursing for Hispanic/Latino Prelicensure Nursing Students and New Graduates: Integrative Review of Literature.

Background: Increasing recruitment and retention of Hispanic/Latino nursing students is urgently needed to increase the diversity of the nursing profession and address persisting health disparities.

Purpose: This integrative review describes current knowledge of Hispanic/Latino prelicensure nursing student and new graduate experiences.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was performed using several online databases.

Results: The Theory of Cultural Marginality provides structure for organizing and synthesizing the literature. Several concepts from the theory are prominent in the literature, including marginal living and across-culture conflict, easing cultural tension and adjustment responses, and contextual, independent, and personal influences.

Conclusions: The process that Hispanic/Latino prelicensure nursing students and new graduates experience as they acculturate into the profession of nursing is complex. Understanding this process is paramount for nurse educators and should be the foundation on which to design, measure, and evaluate educational strategies aimed at fostering student success.