Purpose: Cultural competence is an essential component in nursing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of cultural competence of graduating nursing students, to identify associated background factors to cultural competence, and furthermore to establish whether teaching multicultural nursing was implemented in nursing education. Design: A structured Cultural Competence Assessment Tool was used in a correlational design with a sample of 295 nursing students in southern Finland. Findings and Conclusions: The level of cultural competence was moderate, and the majority of students had studied multicultural nursing. Minority background (p = .001), frequency of interacting with different cultures (p = .002), linguistic skills (p = .002), and exchange studies (p = .024) were positively associated to higher cultural competence. Implications for Practice: To improve cultural competence in students, nursing education should provide continuous opportunities for students to interact with different cultures, develop linguistic skills, and provide possibilities for internationalization both at home and abroad.

The shortage of nurses is a global issue, and turnover rates are especially high for newly graduated nurses. The transition from student to nurse is often described as challenging, and the final clinical practicum before graduation is suggested to be important in preparing graduating students for the transition. However, little is known about the actual relationships between the final clinical practicum, transition and turnover intentions. To examine whether the final clinical practicum experience is associated with the transition experience and turnover intentions of newly graduated nurses, and whether the transition experience mediates the potential relationship between the practicum and turnover intentions. Cross-sectional survey study. The study was carried out in Finland (October-December 2018). Registered nurses graduated within the past two years (n = 712). A new survey instrument with five subscales was developed for measuring the final clinical practicum experience. Transition experience was measured on four scales that demonstrated the emotional, physical, socio-developmental and intellectual domains of the transition: Psychological distress, sleep quality, role conflict/ambiguity, perception of transition and educational preparation. Turnover intentions from job and profession were asked about with two questions. Structural equation modelling was used to explore the associations between the variables. The models were adjusted for multiple potential confounders. Final clinical practicum experience was associated with all domains of the transition experience and turnover intentions. The association between the practicum and turnover intentions was partly mediated by the emotional (psychological distress) and socio-developmental (role conflict and ambiguity) domains of the transition. Our findings provide new evidence about the associations between the specific final clinical practicum dimensions and turnover intentions and the specific mechanisms linking this association. These results highlight the importance of final clinical practicums and suggest targets for improving nurses' transition processes during their first years in practice.