Cultural Competence In Health Care

The video I have selected to critique for my essay is Video B “Food”. In this essay I will analyse the cultural competence or lack thereof in the situation presented to us in the video.

As nurses we aim to provide the patient with holistic care. This cannot be achieved if there is a lack of cultural competence. Papadopoulos (2006, p.10) described cultural competence as ‘the capacity to provide effective healthcare, taking into consideration people’s cultural beliefs, behaviours and needs’. The importance of cultural competence in health care environments in this day and age cannot be understated. As the diversity of populations continues to grow in countries all around the world, the need for healthcare professionals who are adequately equipped

Patel states to the members of staff that she doesn’t eat meat and they proceed to scrape the meat off her plate and return it to her. Here was another opportunity for a member of staff to provide person-centred care, communicate effectively and ask Mrs Patel why she doesn’t eat meat. This would have recognized Mrs. Patel as a unique individual with specific cultural beliefs and traditions, and the staff member would have simultaneously broadened their cultural knowledge. However Mrs. Patel’s diet preferences and beliefs were not acknowledged and therefore the doctor and members of staff failed to provide culturally competent care. This lack of cultural knowledge and cultural awareness led to Mrs. Patel being underfed, neglected and her daughter being dissatisfied with her care. This highlights the view, supported by Holland and Hogg (2010) that the meaning and importance of religion and culture to patients should be an essential part of the induction of staff within healthcare

Patel and her cultural beliefs. As previously mentioned, cultural awareness entails that the healthcare provider is aware of his own prejudices and assumptions of individuals from other cultures, as a result, the health care professional becomes more respectful and sensitive to the values and customs of patients from a different culture. In this situation we see that the doctor is almost intolerant of Mrs. Patel’s traditional diet and even states that, should it be his decision, “everyone would eat exactly the same”. However what this really means is that all the patients would eat what his culture deems appropriate to eat. The doctor’s ‘treat everyone the same’ approach essentially only meets the needs of dominant groups, such as the doctor’s culture. The doctor is not only culturally unaware here but also slightly ethnocentric. To be ethnocentric, is to assume that one’s own culture, practices and understanding of life are most correct and superior to other cultures. (Holland & Hogg, 2010, p.116,119, 188) (Andrews & Boyle, 2008, p.9) Due to his lack of cultural awareness the doctor does not recognize his cultural biases and therefore cannot contemplate that his diet is not appropriate for patients from a different