The Lived Experience of Saudi Graduate Students Who Have Worked as Registered Nurses in Saudi Arabian Hospitals and Have Cared for Patients from Various Cultures

Abstract

Care-giving that suits the culture has a particular relevance to daily nursing care. It was emphasized by Leininger and McFarland (2002) that care represents a focal factor of culture, and that the blending of culture and care together is a remarkable challenge for nurses trying to provide cross-cultural nursing care. The aim of this paper is to investigate and illustrate the lived experience of Saudi nurses enrolled in Saudi Arabian hospitals in providing care for patients from various cultures. A phenomenological qualitative approach was utilized that incorporated a face-to-face interview with open-ended. Also, content analysis was utilized to explain the data. The gathered data revealed three principle themes and one subtheme which are: (a) language and communication are obstacles of caregiving, (b) education is a key, and (c) absence of knowledge can influence patient outcomes with the subtheme of “Fear of making a mistake”. It was concluded that the acquisition of diverse cultures' knowledge is necessary for all nurses enrolled in Saudi hospitals to help them in conveying care that is suitable with patient's culture and enhance patients' outcomes. The researcher recommended improving programs of diverse culture in Saudi Arabian nursing schools and hospitals, and called for further investigation of the lived experiences of Saudi enlisted nurses who have knowledge in diverse cultures and had provided care for different cultures' patients in Saudi Arabian hospitals.

Keywords: Saudi registered nurse, Patient’s outcome, Diverse cultures.