Without adequate preparation and competence, nursing students entering the practice might not respond effectively to the growing health and healthcare disparities among the LGBTQ+ population.

Guided by Pacquiao's Framework for Culturally Competent Healthcare, the study aimed to describe and to compare nursing students' self-rated LGBTQ+ care competence by personal, sociocultural, and educational characteristics, and identify the relationship between LGBTQ+ care competence, level of compassion, and the number of LGBTQ+-related topics offered in nursing curriculum.

A cross-sectional study was implemented through online survey among fourth-year nursing students (N = 208) from nursing schools in Metro Manila using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender-Nursing Education Assessment instrument, the Revised Short Version of the Compassionate Love for Humanity Scale, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Nursing students' overall LGBTQ+ care competence mean rating score was 5.21 out of 7.0. Attitudinal awareness had the highest mean rating score (mean= 6.34, SD= 0.98), followed by basic knowledge (mean= 4.93, SD= 1.27) and clinical preparedness (mean=4.25, SD=1.23). Significant differences in the overall LGBTQ+ care competence mean rating scores were found based on exposure to LGBTQ+-related media contents (p=.03), personal experience in caring for LGBTQ+ clients (p=.00), ethnicity (p=.020), friends' acceptance of LGBTQ.

Findings show that the current generation of nursing students has more positive awareness, acceptance, and attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ population. Embedding LGBTQ+ health in the nursing curriculum must be strategically placed.