Dr. Amanda Swain practices primary care at Student Health Services at the University of Pennsylvania. Swain’s exposure to the medical world began at a young age; she spent extended periods of her childhood in the hospital throughout her father’s illness. She went to Brandeis University with the intention of studying anthropology and archeology. However, after reflecting on her previous experiences in the hospital with her father and briefly shadowing a doctor, Swain ultimately decided to pursue medicine. She started the pre-medical track as a sophomore and was admitted to an early acceptance medical school program later in her college career. In the beginning of her medical training, Swain chose to pursue family medicine. This was the medical model she was most familiar with; she grew up in a small town on Long Island where the entire community went to the same doctor. Swain saw this doctor, whom she referred to by first name, from birth to early adulthood for all of her medical needs. Her positive experience with this doctor plus her familiarity with the field of family medicine ultimately influenced her choice of specialization. Swain graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2002 and completed her residency in family practice at Thomas Jefferson University. Following her training, Swain accepted an offer to work as a primary care practitioner at the University of Pennsylvania’s Student Health Services. Swain’s background in family medicine makes her an ideal fit for her role as a healer; she is personable, knowledgeable, and able to handle the myriad of issues her patients present. Dr. Amanda Swain exemplifies the qualities of a biomedical healer.
First, Dr. Swain epitomizes a model biomedical healer because she genui...
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Note: I have read and agree to Penn’s code of academic integrity.
..., 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.
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According to Fred Lee (2004) hospitals use clinical results and process improvement as a gauge of quality as this data can be readily measured and objective. Conversely, patients judge the quality of care by individual perception. Therein a gap of what the patient’s perception of quality care and how the healthcare providers perceive quality of care is created. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Gaps Model of Service Quality while comparing the findings of the work done by Fred Lee in the book, If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 91/2 Things You would Do Differently.
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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...
Jean Giddens (2013) defines culture as “a pattern of shared attitudes, beliefs, self-definitions, norms, roles, and values that can occur among those who speak a particular language, or live in a defined geographical region.” (Giddens, 2013). A person’s culture influences every aspect that person’s life. Beliefs affected by culture include how someone interacts within the family, how to raise children, the types of foods eaten, the style of clothes chosen, which religion is practiced, and the style of communication (including verbal, and body language, slang used etc.) (Giddens, 2013). In addition to these beliefs, health care practices are also affected by culture. The cause
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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
As nurses entering the medical field understanding the culture of our patients is crucial to proper care. Each culture has their own set of beliefs and values that are shared among groups of people which influences personality, language, lifestyles, house hold, level modesty, social standings, foods, health treatment and identity. Culture affects how people view health and illness; dictating when, where and what type of medical treatment they will receive and who will be their care provider.
In addition, research for this project enabled me to identify five essential elements for acquiring cross cultural competency which I will use as guidelines in conflict resolution in my future occupation:
The purpose of this paper is to educate the advance practice nurse (APN) about Navajo culture as well as how to effectively communicate holistic care to the Navajo Indian population. Recently while at work, Tara, who works in the registration department, began discussing alternative treatments for medical issues while referring to her father as a healer. Fascinated, I engaged her in conversation to assist in educating myself about her interesting culture.
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