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Cultural competency in healthcare
Humanities versus science
Cultural competency in healthcare
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The history of medical humanities is a blueprint showing the advancement of civilization. Many people dismiss the study of medical humanities in medical education, whether at the premedical, medical school, or postgraduate level. This paper provides evidence the study of medical humanities benefits society as a whole with the understanding of scientific exploration, professionalism, and cultural competence. Humanities: How does one define the study of humanities? Stanford University a leading research institutions describes, “The humanities is the study of the myriad ways in which people, from every period of history and from every corner of the globe, process and document the human experience” (Human experience, 2014). By gaining insights into our world, through exploration of the humanities we learn how to become critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, and formulate hypothesis to develop research methods, which helps us understand our world. Further investigation into humanities relating to history helps us understand past civilizations and direct us towards a better future. Unlike scientists, humanists are interested in raising questions, rather than providing absolute answers (Human experience, 2014a). Medical Humanities: The study of humanities provides knowledge gained by a sense of belonging, a link to those who have preceded us, as well as our contemporaries in society. Humanities provide an endless array of subjects to investigate. For example, one can further explore humanistic knowledge in specific disciplines such as medical humanities. In the literature review, “Humanities in Undergraduate Medical Education” the authors proclaims, “Humanities form an integral part of undergraduate medical curricu... ... middle of paper ... ...efinition a “Quasi-governmental health agencies receive funding from both public and private sources, and carry out functions expected of government agencies without government supervision (WordPress, 2010). War, natural disasters, famine, drought are worldwide problems that create needs for culturally competent, empathic, and ethical persons. To be effective in achieving their goals, “Health care providers recognize the need to learn about religions and cultures and the need to incorporate cultural assessment in the process of patient teaching. Clinicians provide culturally relevant care by understanding the cultural context of the patient and family, using culturally sensitive strategies to meet mutual goals, and integrating appropriate community resources (Garity, 2000). These personal characteristics are developed from a strong understanding of the humanities.
As I said before, math and science are important, but the humanities are just as important, if not more. “The humanities, done right, are the crucible within which our evolving notions of what it means to be fully human are put to the test; they teach us, incrementally, endlessly, not what to do but how to be” (Slouka). This quote taken from “Dehumanized” defines and truly puts Slouka’s beliefs into the perspective of what the humanities should teach students and how they should be taught, which I agree with fully. I believe that without the humanities, we, as humans, would all be the same and there would be no room to be different from one another. Whether it be by our culture, religion, or interests, not two people are alike. Individuals should not be bred into being something that they do not want to be or even like Slouka argues, students should not be a “capital investment” for the future of the economy. Students should be investing in themselves to express who they truly are, rather than being something that the economy expects them 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
Dr. Atul Gawande, a Harvard Medical School graduate and writer for The New Yorker, phenomenally illustrates the unknown side of healthcare professions in his book, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. By exploring the ethical and analytical aspects of medicine while entertaining readers with relatable anecdotes, Gawande impresses on his audience the importance of recognizing the wonders of the healthcare field, as well as the fallibility of those within it.
..., p.261) With this knowledge of the culture that one works in, the health care worker can better see the differences with the cultures of the patients that they are taking care of. Hopefully this understanding will lead to less conflict and better healing.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the importance of social science and ethics in medical education and medical practice. This will be achieved by addressing four main headings: social construction of medical and ...
This article has allowed me to formulate an understanding of what the humanities are and how they are incorporated into everyone's life. The introduction of A New Deal for the Humanities gave me a clear idea of how different types of people can find different meanings for a subject matter. This passage speaks on how many professionals in higher education fear that the humanities are facing a crisis. The word “crisis” can be seen as a loaded word, just from the highly negative connotation and how it gains the reader’s attention from the beginning. However, if the eloquence about the word “crisis” is withdrawn, the humanities do face increasing pressure from outside parties. In A New Deal for the Humanities, Gordon Hunter and Feisal G. Mohamed
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Electronic Medical Records (EMR), affects healthcare delivery. I will discuss the positives and negatives this issue has on healthcare and how it effects the cost and quality for healthcare services. In addition, I will identify any potential trade-offs to cost or quality. Lastly, I will discuss how the EMR affects my job as well as any challenges or opportunities this issue presents.
Cultural competence like so many other social constructs has been defined in various ways. One particular definition as determined by the Office of Minority Health states cultural competence is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that are systematically exercised by health care professionals which enables the ability to effectively work among and within cross-cultural situations (Harris, 2010). Betancourt (2005) implied cultural competence is starting to be seen as a real strategy to help with improving healthcare quality and eliminating the injustices pertaining to healthcare delivery and healthcare access. This appeal is gaining favor from healthcare policy makers, providers, insurers and
Education in the humanities may bring a better outcome of understanding the process off everything that happens in our society. Students are able to learn more about the past cultures which is very beneficial for them. It does not only give them an idea of how the past was, but rather help’s them analyze what can be useful in their present. Students also have the capability of learning skills that will allow them to succeed in their future careers. All this learning comes from the aspect that humanities shows skills that students will
...important even if English and philosophy majors don't have the same lucrative job options of a financier (White 2014). If citizens could see that people who value these things can be just as successful, the widely recognized resentment toward the humanities can be diminished.
In “Dehumanized,” Mark Slouka argues that children’s education has become an instrument of production in math and science that will in result benefit the economy. Slouka believes that courses in the humanities are important in children and young adult’s education because it will create a foundation for the democratic society. As a business major, I believe that math and science are the subjects that will create more prosperity for our economy in the long run, but the humanities should be looked at as equally important. The humanities are extremely important for college level students to learn, but young children as well because it creates the foundation for who each person is as an individual. If the humanities are taught at a young enough age, it is believed that the way children will think could be changed, meaning that they will have a more of an understanding for compassion for others and will be more accepting when they grow older. I also believe that the humanities should be taught at the college level to
The term culture is defined as “the thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups” (Potter & Perry, 2013). With the increase of culturally diverse populations in the United States, it is important for nurses to practice cultural competence. Cultural competence is the ability to acquire specific behaviors, skills, attitudes, and policies in a system that permits “effective work in a cross-cultural setting” (OMH, 2013). Being culturally competent is essential because nurses who acknowledges and respects a patient’s health beliefs and practices are more likely to have positive health outcomes (OMH, 2012). Every culture has certain views and attitudes concerning health. The Jewish (also referred to as Jews), in particular, have intriguing health practices and beliefs that health care providers need to be aware of.
An individual’s culture and belief may significantly impact the type of services they require. In addition, it may affect the time, place, and method in the delivery of health care
Humanities is described as the study of how people as a whole, process and record human life. From the wall paintings of the Stone Age, to Plato’s “The Republic”, to the exhilarating tranquility of the sound of jazz, humans have used philosophy, literature, storytelling, and art to express ourselves. The term “the humanities” is a term that molds its definition with the movement of time and the progression or regression of humans. The 18th century brought unprecedented change throughout the world. The colonies declared independence while creating arguably, some of the world’s greatest literary documents, the Declaration of Independence and
R. Howard Bloch once stated, “The humanities are an incredible source of practical information about the world around us”. The study of humanities has affected the life of every individual to walk the earth at some point in time; It seems sort of outrageous but it’s true. From art and literature to architecture and music, the humanities is present in our everyday lives. Its importance is often underestimated but in reality, it is extremely important to our existence. In fact, before entering my first humanities class I didn’t realize how important or interesting humanities was. After learning about how art, specifically, has changed over time, I find myself eager to learn more. The benefits of studying humanities includes: aiding individuals