Alpha Culture Fadiman

The increasing population of immigrants in the United States has contributed to health disparities in the health care system. Cultural competence can remove health disparities by eliminating personal biases, and treating every person with respect. Simply recognizing and accepting different cultures is not enough, one must be able to consistently recognize and understand the differences in order to be culturally competent. Knowledge and culturally competent practices are a must for nurses to deliver quality care in our rapidly changing multicultural world (Edelman, 2014 p. 25).

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

Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and

In order to deliver nursing care to different cultures, nurses are expected to understand and provide culturally competent health care to diverse individuals. Culturally competent care is tailored to the specific needs of each client, while incorporating the individual’s beliefs and values (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2006, p. 90). By being culturally competent, nurses are able to help improve health outcomes by using cultural knowledge and specific skills in selecting interventions that are specific to each client (Stanhope & Lancaster). Therefore, nurses “should perform a cultural assessment on every client with whom they interact with” (Stanhope &

With the large increase multicultural population in the United States, nurses encounter patients with differences in healthcare beliefs, values and customs. To provide adequate nursing care, nurses must be aware of these differences. They must respect and acknowledge the patient’s culture. To do this, nurses need education on cultural competence to ensure patient satisfaction and better patient outcomes.

The United States is a diverse accumulation of cultural backgrounds which can often set the stage for feelings of confusion, anger, mistrust, and a host of other emotions when dissimilar cultures disagree. Cultural competence in nursing can help eliminate these barriers and provide a platform for nursing to follow in the quest to understand a patient's culture and background. When a nurse takes the time to learn about a given culture prior to providing care, it conveys she respects the patient's right to their beliefs, customs, and culture. It does not necessarily mean the nurse agrees with their practices but

Cultural competency is becoming essential in American healthcare with the increasing and diversification of immigration. The Department of Homeland Security, 2014 statistics indicates over 750,000 immigrants received naturalization in the US. These naturalized citizens represent over 20 countries varying from Hispanic, Indian, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern cultures. A change in the way American healthcare treats these cultures is necessitated to provide efficient care and achieve positive outcomes. Douglas et al. (2014) guidelines are to empower patients to help diminish the inequities of their own healthcare. The guidelines for culturally competent care are meant to guide the nurse, nurse educators, and nurse managers in their competent treatment of persons of other cultures. These guidelines mandate a nurse use education, self-assessment and reflection, and diversification of the workforce to meet the demands. The ten guidelines are knowledge of culture, 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.

Culture is a multifaceted characters of a diverse sets of people that have a common ground on values, languages, emotions and identity. It is a symbolic communication perpetuated in a much larger society that influence by means of conditioning and imitation from one generation to the next. Knowledge of cultural diversity is crucial at all levels of nursing practice. It require nurses to be challenge on a multilevel amplitude of social character and commitment. It is empirical that the nurse consider specific cultural factors impacting on each individual patients and be able to recognize its differences. The impact of cultural diversity on each patient start with the nurse as a co-provider and influence on the perceptions, interpretations and behaviors of a particular specific cultural group. Nurses need to understand the validity of how culture minded patients understand life process, health, illness, death, and dying. Through collaboration and scientific evidence of multicultural society can bring about a culturally-relevant and responsive services.

Hart and Mareno (2013) wrote in their article, Cultural challenges, and barriers through the voices of nurses, nurses are being tested in today 's healthcare environment to provide culturally competent care to their patients which consist of a diverse population. Nurses, according to Hart

There is limited healthcare services and literature that is culturally and linguistically appropriate for culturally diverse populations. These barriers have been shown over the years to threaten how effective care is for these populations. The healthcare system depends on nurses to facilitate services, care plans and educate patients on various health issues.

The concept of cultural diversity is very near and dear to my heart, especially since I am of a mixture of races. Growing up in a Cuban/Jamaican household has definitely posed challenges for me throughout my life journey. Now, as a nurse I have a better understand on how cultural diversity can play a huge part in patient care. As the world is changing and people are marrying cultures together, it is imperative that we become sensitive to the needs of others in a world of diverse backgrounds.

Nursing is a dynamic field that is frequently evolving with the changing demographics of the world we live in today. It is important for nurses to have the ability to provide culturally competent care with every patient encounter. Providing culturally competent care is not possible unless the nurse has an understanding of the ethnic background (Flowers, 2014).

The United States is known for its diversity. As a nurse working in such a culturally dynamic country, it is extremely important to be culturally competent in order to provide optimal care. Culturally competent care is defined as “nursing that is sensitive to issues related to culture: religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation.” (Euro med.) In order to deliver such care a nurse must have the knowledge of, be aware of and understand the importance of a patient’s cultural background and how this cultural background affects the care the nurse may give. It is an ongoing process and must be studied continuously.

The society today is becoming increasingly multicultural. According to Office of National Statistics (2012) the percentage of ethnic minorities in England and Wales in 2011 was just over 13% which shows the increase of 5% in the ten year period. The impact of cultural diversity on the society is therefore inevitable as each of the minority groups bring their own customs, religion, and language (Helman, 2000). This essay will look at the way cultural similarities and differences between groups of people impact on the nursing practice and how nurses could ensure delivery of culturally competent care.

The United States is made up of a very large, and diverse group of people. Every day more and more individuals come to the United States to begin a new life. As nurses, it is imperative to be aware, as well as respect other individual’s cultures, values, and beliefs, in order to provide the best care possible to our diverse patient population. In this paper, I will discuss the necessity of the transcultural nursing specialty, cultural diversity, and give examples of how to provide culturally sensitive care.