Essay On Nursing Culture

965 Words2 Pages

Abstract This paper explores the concept of culture, its definitions, and its application to nursing and health care. Culture is a group's customs, habits, morals, and shared beliefs. The understanding of culture, not only as a concept, but how it relates to health care is imperative for providers. The lack of cultural awareness, or competency, leads to miscommunication, inadequacy of care, and health disparities among individuals and groups. Jehovah’s Witness’ are one group of individuals with defined morals and beliefs that can be at odds with routine health care: they do not accept most blood products. Understanding how culture can impact a patient, their needs, and beliefs can improve patient outcomes and improve satisfaction rates. Keywords: culture, competence, nursing Culture Concept Analysis Over the years, the word culture has taken on numerous definitions. Culture was first described in the eighteenth century as the cultivation of the soil to help grow …show more content…

“An individual’s culture shapes how he or she understands, seeks, reacts to, and expresses feelings about health care throughout the continuum of wellness, including presickness, sickness, and recovery” (Marzilli, 2014, p. 230). Understanding how culture can impact a patient, their needs, and beliefs can improve patient outcomes and improve satisfaction rates. References Dreher, M. and MacNaughton, N. (2002). Cultural competence in nursing: Foundation or fallacy?. Nursing Outlook, 50(5), pp.181-186. Marion, L., Douglas, M., Lavin, M., Barr, N., Gazaway, S., Thomas, L. and Bickford, C. (2016). Implementing the New ANA Standard 8: Culturally Congruent Practice. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(1). Marzilli, C. (2014). Concept Analysis of Culture Applied to Nursing. Creative Nursing, 20(4),

Open Document