Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Open Access
Embargo Period
4-13-2023
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Family Nurse Practioner
Year Degree Awarded
2023
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
Transgender healthcare, nursing students, education, nursing
Advisor
Karen Kalmakis
DNP Project Chair
Dr. Raeann LeBlanc
Abstract
Background: Limited teaching of transgender related healthcare competencies is seen in baccalaureate nursing curriculum, resulting in inadequate preparation of healthcare providers to care for this population of patients. This discord can prevent transgender patients from seeking healthcare and affect access to needed services. Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to educate accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at an institute of higher education on providing culturally responsive healthcare for transgender patients. Methods: An in-person educational intervention focused on improving clinical and cultural knowledge for transgender patients was implemented and evaluated. A pre-intervention survey and post-intervention survey were utilized to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and skills of students prior to the intervention and immediately after the intervention using the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS). Results: Overall SOCCS scores (paired t(40)= -5.508, p <.001), and the scores for the sub-domains of skills (paired t (40 = -5.817, p <.001) and knowledge (paired t(40) = -2.51, p = 0.016), significantly increased from the pre-survey to the post-survey while the means for the sub-domain of attitudinal awareness did increase, but this increase was not statistically significant (paired t(40) = -.601, p = .551). Conclusion: The statistically significant improvement of overall SOCCS scores, as well as the sub-domains of skills and knowledge indicate that education is a key component in creating inclusive healthcare environments and preparing future healthcare professionals to provide culturally appropriate care to the transgender patient population.
Keywords: Transgender healthcare, nursing students, education, nursing
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.