Teaching Cultural Safety in a New Zealand Nursing Education Program Fran Richardson, MA, RN; and Jenny Carryer, PhD, RGON, MNZM, FCNANZ ABSTRACT Cultural safety education is a concept unique to nurs- ing in New Zealand. It involves teaching nursing students to recognize and understand the dynamics of cultural, per- sonal, and professional power and how these shape nurs- ing and health care relationships. This article describes the findings of a research study on the experience of teaching cultural safety. As a teacher of cultural safety, the first author was interested in explor- ing the experience of teaching the topic with other cultural safety teachers. A qualitative approach situated in a criti- cal theory paradigm was used for the study. The study was informed by the ideas of Foucault and feminist theory. Fourteen women between ages 20 and 60 were inter- viewed about their experience of teaching cultural safety. Five women were Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand), and 9 were Pakeha (the Maori name for New Zealanders of European descent). Following data analysis, three major themes were identified: that the Treaty of Waitangi provides for an ex- amination of power in cultural safety education; that the broad concept of difference influences the experience of teaching cultural safety; and that the experience of teach- ing cultural safety has personal, professional, and political dimensions. These dimensions are experienced differently by Maori and Pakeha teachers. C ultural safety education, an approach that pre- pares nursing students to develop culturally safe nursing practice in the New Zealand health care environment, is unique to New Zealand. According to the Nursing Council of New Zealand (1996), cultural safety refers to the effective nursing of patients from other cul- tures by nurses who have undertaken a process of reflec- tion on their own cultural identity and recognize the effect of their culture on their nursing practice. This definition expands on a previous one (Nursing Council of New Zea- land, 1992) and more clearly articulates the involvement of the consumer in determining effective or culturally safe care. The 1996 Guidelines for Cultural Safety in Nursing and Midwifery Education incorporate a set of principles that make cultural safety more inclusive of other groups at risk of being marginalized in the health care system (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 1996). This article defines and describes cultural safety and provides a background situating the research study his- torically and geographically. The research process is de- scribed, followed by discussion of the research findings, and concludes with the identification of factors influencing ongoing curriculum development. Cultural safety education and culturally safe nursing practice emerged within a framework of considerable so- cial and political change occurring in New Zealand during the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, it is important to note that this particular research study reflected the experi- ence of cultural safety teachers who were involved in nursing education and were part of, and influenced by, this dramatic social and political change. The change was driven by international and local influences and focused on the social and political needs of groups who had histori- cally been marginalized by state and social institutions. These included women, Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand), people with physical disabilities or men- tal illnesses, gay men, lesbians, and older adults. Collec- Received: June 6, 2002 Accepted: January 7, 2004 Ms. Richardson is Senior Lecturer, Whitireia Community Poly- technic, Porirua City, and Doctoral Candidate, Massey University, Palmerston North, and Dr. Carryer is Professor and Clinical Chair in Nursing, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Address correspondence to Fran Richardson, MA, RN, Senior Lecturer, Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Wineera Drive, Private Bag 50910, Porirua City, New Zealand; e-mail: fran@whitireia.ac.nz. May 2005, Vol. 44, No. 5 201