When I was young I realized that passing judgment on someone based on their past, appearance, or beliefs is a reflection of our own close-mindedness. When we show prejudice towards someone we are comparing him or her to what we believe to be the “right way”. With almost 7.5 billion people on earth, there is no single “right way”. People from various backgrounds must all be acknowledged and treated sensitively. Cultural sensitivity begins with the understanding that there are many different cultures, each with their own unique attributes. One can truly say that they have become culturally sensitive when they begin placing value on these differences. As doctors, we have the responsibility to tailor patient treatment options because certain …show more content…
These questions led to my initial love of science. My passion for science further grew when my great-grandmother began to forget who I was due to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. I did not understand why Alzheimer’s disease caused such havoc on the body and mind of not only the patient, but also those close to them. From this point on, I was determined to understand the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease. This experience sparked my interest in medicine and channeled my career choice towards the field of biology, master’s of physiology and now, medical …show more content…
Seven months into my job they called a code Blue in Vascular Interventional Radiology and according to procedure I ran over with all the equipment, drugs, and fluids necessary, but nothing would have gotten me ready for what was going to happen. Once I arrived, without hesitation, I went to the anesthesiologist in charge to see how I could help, but noticed that nothing could be done so instead I put on my gloves and proceeded to fall in line for CPR compressions. During hectic situations it is important to keep communication open; thus, I told the nurses ahead of me to let me go since I was a fresh pair of strong hands. From the age of three up to this point I had always wanted to be a doctor and follow in my grandfather’s footsteps; I always said with an optimistic imagination and convocation at hand that no one would ever die on my operating table. As I was doing compressions I remember glancing over to the frantic look on the patient’s family and the pale, emotionless and lifeless face of the person below my hands. All I could think about at that moment was not my ego, but about the person in front of me. I began to pray and ask for this life to wake up maybe for one more minute or two just to say goodbye to his family because up to
Douglas, Rosenkoetter, Pacquiao, Callister, Hattar-Pollara, Lauderdale, Milstead, Nardi, & Purnell (2014) outline ten guidelines for implementing culturally competent care; knowledge of cultures, education and training in culturally competent care, critical reflection, cross-cultural communication, culturally competent practice, cultural competence in health care systems and organizations, patient advocacy and empowerment, multicultural workforce, cross-cultural leadership, and evidence-based practice and research. One specific suggestion I will incorporate is to engage in critical reflection. This is mentioned both by Douglas, et al. (2014) and Trentham, et al. (2007) as an important part of cultural competency. I will do this by looking at my own culture, beliefs, and values and examining how they affect my actions. I will use this information to better inform my day to day practice when working with patients with a different culture than my
These differences in origin accounts for diversity in socio-cultural backgrounds and nurses must develop the knowledge and the skills to engage patients from different cultures and to understand the beliefs and the values of those cultures (Jarvis, 2012). If healthcare professionals focus only on a narrowly defined biomedical approach to the treatment of disease, they will often misunderstand their patients, miss valuable diagnostic cues, and experience higher rates of patient noncompliance with therapies. Thus, it is important for a nurse to know what sociocultural background a patient is coming from in order to deliver safe an effective
McClimens, A., Brewster, J., & Lewis, R. (2014). Recognising and respecting patients ' cultural diversity. Nursing Standard (2014+), 28(28), 45.
Culturally competent cares in the medical field can make a huge difference in the satisfaction and the healing of patients who are guests in the facilities that we will be at. In central Minnesota we have the privilege of having many different cultures in a small area. With many people immigrating here from their homeland it is important, as health care professionals, to have an understanding of the many different beliefs and traditions that we may come across in our personal and professional lives.
When working in a medical/health related field one would be able to see countless people and odd things. Some medical procedures that might seem small to one person may be complicated or even taboo to another person’s beliefs. That is why as nurses, one should be culturally competent. (Newman Giger & Davidhizar, 2008) says, “to be culturally competent one must be able to deliver meaningful care to a patient
Going to a different country or area of the world can open up anybody’s eyes to see that culture makes a huge impact on the understanding and practices of healthcare that seem to be so common to other areas of the world. When a person lives in one country their whole life, that person may not realize how different the life they live is from someone in a foreign country. If a person is going to receive treatment from someone with a different cultural background, they should be expected to get treatment to respects their own culture. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences having such a diverse variety of students has their own cultural competency definition that states “effectively and comfortably communicate across cultures with patients of differing backgrounds, taking into account aspects of trust in order to adopt mutually acceptable objectives and measures”. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler, the issue of culture and healthcare are greatly prevalent. Katherine Dettwyler herself goes to West Africa as an anthropologist and her horizons are broadened when during her research she comes in contact with how much culture has an impact on healthcare and everyday life.
performance that involves, but is not limited to, a loss in at least 2 of the
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.
“Cultural awareness is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions (Quappe, 2007). It is important to be aware of what culture your patient is from because than the nurse can give the patient and family the care that is not offensive o their beliefs. Cultural sensitivity Cultural sensitivity is experienced when neutral language–both verbal and nonverbal–is used in a way that reflects sensitivity and appreciation for the diversity of another. It is conveyed when words, phrases, categorizations, etc. are intentionally avoided, especially when referring to any individual who may interpret them as impolite or offensive (Giger, 2006). Being sensitivity to ones cultural is imperative, this allows the patient and or family to feel more comfortable and have their personal beliefs be respected. Different forms of cultural sensitivity include choice of words and language used while talking to a patient, the use of space while communicating, as well as who in the family to talk to and how to address patients and family. Cultural competence is a combination of the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are needed to deliver the proper excellent care to a diverse population. Cultural competence is relevant in order to be able to give
This collection of subjective data from the patient or family is key because it gives us an idea of where to look or what steps need to be taken. At this time their cultural and ethnic preferences become aware to us and it is our responsibility to be competent enough to understand in order to respect and advocate for their preferences.
Cultural blindness can lead to misconceptions and the inability to treat patients efficiently. Culture, religion, beliefs, values, social economic standings, education, mentality, morals, and treatment are all different from person to person, community, and groups. These barriers can be overcome by treating each patient as a unique individual and seeking to learn about cultural beliefs and differences, without reservations or pre-judgments but with an open and willing mind. These inhibiting barriers can be crossed through acceptance and commonality can be established. Through Patient-centered communication and attentiveness to the patients’ interpretation, discussion of lifestyle and treatment choices in an open and non-judgmental manner, and understanding of patient views, concerns and information needs can lead to cultural sensitivity and appreciation (Dean, R,
programs, particularly with treatment initiation and retention. Hiring qualified staff of the same ethnic background may dramatically increase patient access and initiation into treatment. In addition, if the treatment provider is not of the same ethnic background, it is best that he or she take on an inquisitive role and not make any ethnocentric assumptions based on his own cultural heritage. The goat of the clinician should be to uncover social cultural issues that will affect acceptance, retention, and ultimately, treatment outcome". (Patrick Abbott, MD and Duane M. Chase. n.d para,
In the clinical setting, nurses are believed to spend the most time with patients. This involves regularly dealing with people coming from different ethnicities and with different cultural practices and beliefs (Brown & Edwards, 2012). Given this cultural diversity, every patient may have his/her own cultural beliefs and practices regarding his/her own health and its treatment which can be similar or different to those ... ... middle of paper ... ... nternational Journal for Quality in Health Care, 8(5), 491-497.
Understanding cultural differences not only improves the effectiveness of the treatment the patient receives, it is also help the nurse to prevent negliency of care. It is impostant to maintain a curiosity about each patient no matter how much we know abouth that person's culture.
Furthermore, lack of Cultural sensitivity occurs when people generalize the idea that “we are more the same than different” or that a common culture is shared by all races, religious groups, or ethnic groups. Not p...