The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people has recently become a national health priority. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) cited provider knowledge and attitudes as one of the key areas needing further research. One of the largest barriers to culturally congruent LGBTQ care is the lack of knowledge about LGBTQ people and possible negative attitudes among nurses and providers (Strong & Folse, 2015). Research and data have shown that LGBTQ people face significant health disparities stemming from years of systemic discrimination and stigmatization.

To establish a baseline understanding of the knowledge and attitude of registered nurses about LGBTQ people as well as measure the impact of a newly designed educational intervention on the nurses' knowledge and attitudes.

Registered nurses (n = 111) were offered a one hour educational intervention at various inpatient hospitals within a major metropolitan area. Pre-and post-tests were administered to establish baseline knowledge and attitude as well as the effectiveness.

A statistically significant impact on the nurses' knowledge of LGBT health (p < .0001) was found after the intervention. While attitudes did show some improvement from the intervention, it was not statistically significant and could be an area of further research. Qualitative responses from nurses showed an overwhelming desire to have LGBTQ education for their nursing practice.

Implications for practice include implementing LGBTQ cultural competence into initial and ongoing educational trainings for registered nurses within healthcare organizations, and improved nursing care of LGBTQ people. Future research is needed to examine the impact of the educational intervention over an extended period of time.