In the article “Association between cultural intelligence and cultural sensitivity in nursing students: A cross-sectional descriptive study”, the authors researched cultural intelligence and cultural sensitivity in nursing students. Culture is an essential aspect in the field of healthcare and society. The world comprises multicultural societies characterized by divergent and convergent cultural perceptions based on diversity and influenced by such factors as ethnicity, gender, age, history, and education. Cultural intelligence helps nurses effectively offer their services by understanding and establishing strong relations with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. The primary thesis of the article is to evaluate the way cultural intelligence among nursing students is associated with cultural sensitivity.
The authors formulated three research questions that guided their study. They wanted to find out the level of cultural sensitivity and cultural intelligence in nursing students and the association between the former and the latter. They collected data from a sample of 277 students using questionnaires and cultural intelligence and cultural sensitivity scales (Göl & Erkin, 2019). They analyzed collected data using SPSS software, comparing variables with normal and non-normal distribution using t-test and one-way ANOVA as well as Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U tests, respectively. The researchers observed ethical considerations, including informed consent from participants and approval for data collection from relevant agencies and institutions. The results indicated a positive correlation between cultural intelligence and cultural sensitivity. Participants who have been exposed to individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds scored significantly higher in both variables than others.
Implications of Cultural Intelligence in Social Work
In the contemporary world, social work involves offering services to a multicultural society. The most common cross-cultural challenges in the profession include language barriers, different beliefs, discrimination, and varying attitude towards disclosure. Different languages and communication styles can significantly hinder social work. People have different beliefs about social issues in their lives, which influence their willingness to get help. It is inappropriate to be frank about emotions in some cultures. Having high cultural intelligence can help address the challenges because it would be easier to understand different languages and the way people respond to different communication styles. Additionally, it would help know their perspectives, beliefs, and attitudes towards particular issues and adopt an appropriate and acceptable strategy for resolving them. Research about how individuals from different gender, ethnicities, races, and age groups perceive social workers can help develop high CQ in the field.
Seminar on Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
The topics that the seminar would cover are the definition of CQ, its importance in social work, its dimensions, and the development of CQ. CQ refers individual’s “ability to adjust and adapt to, and effectively manage interaction with different cultures” (Göl & Erkin, 2019, p. 486). It is beneficial since it enhances cultural sensitivity and facilitates the handling of occupation demands and situations with better understanding. It also helps individuals establish relations with people from different cultures, create a positive environment, and promote high-performance skills (Göl & Erkin, 2019). The four dimensions of CQ include cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral abilities (Rüth & Netzer, 2020). While cognition and metacognition involve a person’s proficiency to learn, think, and strategize, motivation is about their confidence and self-efficacy. Experience and reflection, training and coaching, and personal CQ development plans are key strategies for improving an individual’s CQ (Rüth & Netzer, 2020). I would help seminar attendees apply CQ to social work by encouraging them to offer services to clients from different cultural backgrounds even when they feel unconformable.
References
Göl, İ., & Erkin, Ö. (2019). Association between cultural intelligence and cultural sensitivity in nursing students: A cross-sectional descriptive study. Collegian, 26(4), 485-491. Web.
Rüth, R., & Netzer, T. (2020). The key elements of cultural intelligence as a driver for digital leadership success. Leadership, Education, Personality: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 3-8. Web.