Aim

Cultural intelligence is one of the key elements of social competences in the modern globalized world in the case of healthcare workers who increasingly encounter patients from different cultural backgrounds in their daily work. The aim of the study was to discuss and recommend the usage of the Polish adaptation of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) [1] when assessing the cultural competences of healthcare professionals.

Material and methods

The procedure for adapting CQS to Polish conditions was carried out on a group of 317 participants consisting of medical professionals and medical students (nursing, medicine). Participants were examined twice with a minimum time interval of 22 days. The aim of the study, whose procedure was described in detail in a separate article [1], was to determine the psychometric properties (in terms of reliability, internal consistency, factorial structure, test-retest reliability, and theoretical validity, criterion, and convergent validity) of the Polish adaptation of the Scale.

Results

CQS has satisfactory psychometric properties; namely, it is characterized by high reliability and the factor structure is similar to the postulated one. Theoretical and criterion validity have also been satisfactorily proven and evaluated. Finally, CQS significantly correlates with tools examining variables such as cross-cultural competences, the need for cognitive closure, emphatic sensitiveness, emotional intelligence, social desirability, and selected personality traits.

Conclusions

The obtained results support the conclusion that the CQS can be successfully used in empirical research among healthcare professionals and students of medical courses in a Polish context.