Experiences and Meaning of Mentoring for Multicultural Children among Lower Nursing Students

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences and meaning of nursing students participating in a multicultural children mentoring program and to find out how mentoring activities can contribute to the cultural competence of future nurses. This study was based on a qualitative research design through reflective journals and in-depth interviews. From March 20 to June 30, 2016, we collected data from 10 nursing students who participated in a mentoring program for multicultural children. The research question was what was the experience of nursing students participating in multicultural children mentoring? Reflective journals were created individually before participating in mentoring activities and after 10 mentoring activities. In-depth interviews were conducted with three participants to clarify the meaning of their reflective journal and identify the implications of additional mentoring activity experiences after the completion of the mentoring activities. The results were obtained for 3 central themes; Breaking the prejudice against cultural diversity, Understanding the reality of multicultural children, and Acquiring experience for the sake of growth. The results of this study can be used as the basic data for the development of a nursing education program for the purpose of enhancing the cultural competence of nursing students.