Decolonizing Nursing Education: Promoting Curricula for Community Engagement

Social determinants of health (SDOH) can be a powerful influence on health inequities and disparities. This strong influence of SDOH on patient outcomes makes it necessary for nurses to assess and address SDOH in our nursing curriculum and also during patient care. Nursing is especially well suited to incorporate SDOH into teaching and practice given this discipline’s roots in community engagement and providing humanistic care. However, the ability of nurses to apply holistic care to a diverse patient population depends on incorporating the social context of care. In this chapter, we explore the voices of nurse educators, a Doctor of Nursing Practice student, and a learning designer on their lived experiences with decolonizing nursing education. The authors of this chapter discuss the interconnecting themes of culture, racism, colonialism, and health inequities to arrive at a collective declaration of recommendations to decolonize nursing education.