ABSTRACT
The nursing profession educates its members to be culturally competent so they will be capable of providing high quality, culturally appropriate health care. A number of pedagogical methods are used in nursing to teach cultural competence, including study abroad. While cultural competence is an important indicator of competence in clinical practice, global competence is a broader concept that can prepare nurses to work, not only in multicultural settings in the United States, but internationally as well. Nursing and health care are global issues that require an awareness of the complex cultural, social, political, and economic interrelationships within and between nations, and the moral obligations that unite us as a world community. With this knowledge and contextual understanding, a globally competent nurse will have a more holistic perspective of the health beliefs and practices of an individual from another country/culture, and as a result will be better prepared to provide culturally appropriate health care in any setting. Although study abroad is a means to teach cultural competence, and can be a vehicle for teaching global competence as well, we know very little about how, or to what extent study abroad aff ects the clinical practice of nurses in the fi eld, or to what extent changes in clinical practice aff ect patient outcomes.
