Enhancing Cultural Competency: A Phenomenological Study.

Background: An increase of ethnic minorities in the United States heightens concerns for health disparities. International service-learning provides an immersion in a community to identify issues related to culture and health. This study reports nursing students' experiences related to participation in an international service-learning project.

Method: A qualitative phenomenological design was used. Twenty participants who immersed in the community for 9 days were interviewed. Two semistructured focus interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Four themes emerged: Value Communication, Appreciate Differences, Provide Education, and Accept Humanity.

Conclusion: This experience highlights the needs of diverse communities and enhances participants' skills to deliver culturally competent care with better education, compassion, and communication. By exploring students' experiences, service-learning experiences may be better understood as a pedagogy for teaching cultural competency and improving health outcomes in diverse populations. [J Nurs Educ. 2020;59(9):485-492.].