It is my opinion that all health care professionals need to become culturally knowledgeable and proficiently trained for competency. It is the rational objective that health care providers to engage in active pursuit and commitment to achieve cultural competency in humility. Unassuming meekness in dealing with our patients and other professionals, with a genuine desire to provide excellent services is critical in working with the clients, understand what they are feeling and thinking, especially when they do not feel at ease. Also of critical importance is seeing each individual as a distinctive and well-meaning person to be treated with dignity, fair-mindedness, and deserving of excellence of care. WE must become more attentive, sensitive
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
Cultural competency is a very significant necessity in health care today and the lack of it in leadership and in the health workforce, is quite pressing. The lack of cultural competency can bring about dire consequences such as racial and ethnic disparities in health care. It may not be the sole reason for these disparities, but it certainly places a significant role. A patient and health care provider relationship is very significant and can make or break the quality of care that is given. The lack of cultural competency leads to poor communication which then leads to those of diverse backgrounds to feel either unheard or just plain misunderstood. As an East African
Being culturally aware and knowledgeable is a must when working in any type of healthcare field. In our society today, we have an array of different cultures and making patients feel comfortable and at easy is our primary goal. Diversity training is something that is a must for each healthcare professional and should be the basis of our healthcare education.
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.
Working as a research nurse at the Ohio State University, I often encounter patients that
The United States’ population is currently rising exponentially and with growth comes demographic shifts. Some of the demographics shifts include the population growth of Hispanics, increase in senior citizens especially minority elderly, increase in number of residents who do not speak English, increase in foreign-born residents, population trends of people from different sexual orientation, and trends of people with disabilities (Perez & Luquis, 2009). As a public health practitioner, the only way to effectively eliminate health disparities among Americans, one must explore and embrace the demographic shifts of the United States population because differences exist among ethnic groups (Perez, 2009). We must be cognizant of the adverse health conditions for each population and the types of socioeconomic factors that affect them. Culture helps shape an individual’s health related beliefs, values, and behaviors. It is more than ethnicity and race; culture involves economic, political, religious, psychological, and biological aspects (Kleinman & Benson, 2006). All of these conditions take on an emotional tone and moral meaning for participants (Kleinman & Benson, 2006). As a health professional, it is one’s duty to have adequate knowledge and awareness of various cultures to effectively promote health behavior change. Cultural and linguistic competencies through cultural humility are two important aspects of working in the field of public health. Cultural competency is having a sense of understanding and respect for different cultural groups, while linguistic competency is the complete awareness of the language barriers that impact the health of individuals. These concepts are used to then work effectively work with various pop...
Introduction Cultural Competency is fundamentally linked to the principles of social justice and human rights because it provides the nurses with the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills to provide equal care despite one’s cultural background. However, using the principles of social justice and human rights to educate nurses allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences. Removing their own cultural filters, and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different, accomplish this. An embedded experience, in which nurses interact with various cultures, would encourage them to adopt cultural competency knowledge (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2008). Environmental justice can affect the population’s health.
This essay will focus on outlining the fundamental principles of cultural diversity and how effective nursing interventions are used when providing an adequate amount of care for an individual from a culturally diverse background and how this may collide with the nursing therapeutic engagement. This essay will give the reader an insight upon culture whilst giving a significant explanation of cultural differences within a health setting. The patient’s real name will not be used and will be referred to as Mr. X. This is in line with the Nursing and midwifery Council 2008 (NMC, 2008) requirements to maintain confidentiality at all times.
The purpose of the assessment is to address the competence of different cultures. As a number of Haitian immigrants in to the United States, it continues to grow at a steady rate (DeSilva, Gonzales-Eastep, Grey, & Nicolas, 2006). It is very important that mental health providers become better informed, and develop the skill sets necessary to combine the providers’ and clients’ cultural backgrounds into the treatment (DeSilva, Gonzales-Eastep, Grey & Nicolas, 2006). I will be conducting an assessment on, Mrs. Hudson an Haitian American woman who was referred by her primary care doctor, because of symptoms that; she is experiencing when she leaves her home. This is Mrs. Hudson’s first time to a mental health counselor.
Cultural Competence is important for many reasons. First, it can help develop culturally sensitive practices which can in turn help reduce barriers that affect treatment in health care settings. Second, it can help build understanding, which is critical in competence, in order wards knowing whom the person recognizes as a health care professional and whom they views as traditional healer, can aid the development of trust and improve the individual’s investment and participation in treatment. Third, our population in the United States is not only growing quickly but also changing, cultural competence will allow us as educators and healthcare workers keep up wi...
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
Cultural competence in health care provision refers to the capacity of health care systems to offer good care to patients and accommodate employees, who have diverse beliefs, behaviors, and values to meet their cultural, linguistic, and social needs. It comprises of policies, attitudes, and behaviors that integrate to form a system that can operate efficiently in cross cultural conditions. Healthcare organizations look at cultural competence from two major viewpoints. Firstly, it is a tool to enhance patient care from all backgrounds, social groups, languages, religions, and beliefs. Secondly, it is a tool that strategically attracts potential clients to their organizations and, hence, expands
personal cleansing and hygiene. There are also some patients who will only want a female nurse or male nurse to attend to their personal care; there are some nurses who are in danger of ignoring certain cultures that some patients have therefore not giving the patient the right care that they need. Which is why cultural competency is absolutely important, to offer culturally competent care is imperative as nurses have to support patient’s decisions made by their family members or from the patient, the decision may come from a cultural perspective which may not sit well for nurses. Truong, Paradies, and Priest (2014) found evidence of improvement in nurses and other healthcare providers when it comes to cultural competency knowledge and
As a nurse strive to provide culturally sensitive care, they must recognize how their client's and their perceptions are similiar as well as different. Nurse enhance their ability to provide client-centered care by reflecting on how their beliefs and values impact the nurse-patient relationship. To provide appropriate patient care, the nurse must understand her/his culture and that of the nurse profession. Cultural biases can be particularly difficult to identify when the nurse and client are of a similar cultural backgroup. When we recognize and know a culture, we will know what is right for our patient, and thus may impose our own values on the client by assuming our values are their values. Recognizing differences a present an opportunity not only to know the other, but also to help gain a greater sense of self. In this paper, I will explain more about diversity and cultural competence in case study.
Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and patient which in turn improves healing and health.