Cultural Safety In Health Care

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This essay involves two journals related to cultural safety in health care. The first will be critiqued and three central themes will be identified. This will then be compared to the second journal, and the similarities and differences between the journals will be discussed. The link between cultural safety and nursing will then be examined.
The journal under review was written by Canadian Danielle Newson, who came to New Zealand to do her final Clinical practicum. While on placement, Newson immersed herself in the Māori culture, and the Te Tiriti O Waitangi. This experience changed her perspective on cultural safety. She now realized that self-reflection was important to gain self-awareness to enable her to …show more content…

The Te Tiriti O Waitangi encompasses the British Crowns obligations and duties, to make sure both Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) and Pakeha (non-Māori) rights are protected (“The Treaty of Waitangi,” 2017). It outlines participation, partnership, and protection as an obligation (Treaty of Waitangi principals, 2014).
The Nursing Council of New Zealand has developed guidelines based on the Te Tiriti O Waitangi’s principles for nurses to incorporate cultural safety in their practice (“Nursing Council of New Zealand,” 2005). This is to ensure Māori needs and interests are considered and their equal opportunities are protected. While on placement Newson witnessed these principles being applied and reinforced the importance of basing her practice on cultural values. The second point raised in the journal is self- reflection. Newson began to realize that her attuites and behaviour in her personal life and in her profession had an impact on how she practiced (Newson 2009). Reflecting on one’s self, experiences, and attitudes will allow a health care professional to work effectively with their patients (O’Toole …show more content…

They witnessed the importance of cultural safety while on their clinical placement. They could see it is imperative for a nurse to identify and respect their patient’s culture to empower them. They both came to the realization that this leads to a positive outcome for the patient’s health.
The two accounts differ, Newson has written how her placement enhanced her cultural awareness, by focusing on Maori culture and reflecting on her own (Newson, 2009). While Katelyn Byrson was unaware of what cultural safety meant. She had been confusing ‘cultural safety’ with ‘ethnic safety’. She had to develop a dramatic shift in her thinking to enable her to understand the complexity of culture and how this affects patient care. (Bryson, 2012).
The link between nursing and cultural safety is that it ensures a better health outcome for the patient. Cultural safety in New Zealand was enforced in 1992 by the Nursing Council of New Zealand (Papps and Ramsden, 1996). O’Toole (1996) States ‘if an indigenous person feels their culture is not respected or accepted they can feel a power imbalance. From this, the patient may not trust the health professional, and negatively affect the patient’s health

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