Introduction
The impact of globalization, migration, and the increasing cultural diversity among clients present a challenge to nurses’ practice and nursing education worldwide. Providing culturally congruent care to clients with diverse cultures has become a crucial aspect of healthcare service and educational programs, designed to meet the needs of families, individuals, communities, and populations from culturally diverse background. Culturally congruent care, also known as culturally competent care, is a critical component of patient-centered care and holistic care for healthcare providers in the current context of global diversity [Cultural competence is a fundamental skill for nurses in delivering culturally congruent care [Iran is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country, with followers of different religions, including Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and various ethnic groups such as Persians, Turks, Azari, Kurds, Gilak, Lor, Arab, Mazani, Baloch, Bakhtiari, Talash, and Turkmen. Each group has its unique identity, beliefs, and cultural values [A review of the literature shows that few studies have evaluated the cultural competence of academic nurse educators and effectiveness of educational programs in improving their cultural competence. The studies have found that many nurse educators have inadequate cultural competence, with the majority of them having a low to moderate level of cultural competence and feeling unprepared to teach cultural care. This finding suggests that nurse educators with inadequate cultural competence may struggle to teach culturally congruent care to new nurses, which in turn may hinder their ability to provide culturally competent care and to respond to issues related to cultural diversity in healthcare. The researchers strongly recommend strengthening the cultural competence of nurse educators through continuing education programs [The literature review highlighted that nurse educators’ cultural competence was a key factor in preparing students for culturally congruent care, and that transcultural nursing education was crucial to improve their cultural competence. Given Iran’s multicultural and multi-ethnic context, developing cultural competence among nurse educators is effective for the future of nursing education. However, there is a lack of research on nurse educators’ cultural competence levels and the effectiveness of continuing education and training programs in increasing their competence in different contexts and cultures. To address this gap in the literature, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of a virtual training program on the cultural competence of nurse educators.It sought to answer the following research question: