Clinician Interventions

I am a Brazilian black male with military experience and diplomatic knowledge who grew up in a low-income household in a developing country. In addition, I have traveled to about 35 countries and am acquainted with people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, ethnic groups and nationalities. These characteristics and experiences allow me to see the world from perspectives that are unusual for most people. Besides being open-minded and non- judgemental toward all my future patients, I personally understand the difficulties faced by people of color, immigrants and individuals from low-income families. In sum, my background and my cultural literacy will allow me to be a sensitive and culturally aware patient-centered care.

In this great nation we live in today that has been vastly increasing diversity bring so many great opportunities. But with these great opportunities there are also challenges that are continually looked over constantly. One of the challenges is our health care system that fails to deliver culturally competent services. Cultural competency helps to enable providers to deliver services that are respectful to diverse patients. This helps with patients own health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs. This is why this training is needed in every health facility. Many doctors go through this problem not understanding their patient’s needs. If I were a doctor I would use this skill. Certain racial and ethnic minorities receive poorer

Cultural competency not only encompasses race or ethnicity, but a quality of care for all individuals. Studies illustrate that cultural competency is currently lacking in the health care field; this results in the disparities that exist among the minority population with low

Culturally competent cares in the medical field can make a huge difference in the satisfaction and the healing of patients who are guests in the facilities that we will be at. In central Minnesota we have the privilege of having many different cultures in a small area. With many people immigrating here from their homeland it is important, as health care professionals, to have an understanding of the many different beliefs and traditions that we may come across in our personal and professional lives.

As the diverse populations of the United States (U.S.) continues to grow the need for cultural competency in healthcare delivery requires culturally competent healthcare providers. Each population has its own particular norms and practices that guide their lifestyles; therefore, a challenge arises for health care providers to learn to provide culturally sensitive care to clients from diverse cultural backgrounds (Waite and Calamaro 2010). The ever changing population of the U.S. signifies a much needed change in health care delivery to different cultures. The U.S. Bureau of Census (1992) predicts that by the year 2020 only 53 % of the population will be of white European decent.

As the United States population continues to follow the trend of increasing diversity, the need for more culturally competent healthcare professionals increases as well. According to some of the leading experts in health care policy, cultural competency in health care can be described as the ability of systems and/or healthcare professionals to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs, and behaviors, including tailoring delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs (Betancourt, J.R., Green, A.R., & Carrillo, J.E., 2002). These researchers assert that there are essentially three specific barriers to cultural competency in the health care setting: lack of diversity in health care’s leadership and workforce, poorly designed systems of care that fall short of meeting the needs of diverse patient populations, and poor communication between providers

Children that were recruited to participate were assigned to either a treatment or non-treatment group based on parental consent, and willingness to be involved in therapeutic interventions. Those who were interested in receiving both therapy and being involved in the study were assigned to a treatment group, and those interested only in being part of the study were assigned to the non-treatment group. Due to the nature of this study, an option of random assignment was not feasible, and instead children were each assigned to their group. Screening interviews and pretreatment assessment occurred one month before treatment began. The participants then began receiving intervention or no intervention and immediately after treatment were given a post treatment assessment. In addition to the assessment at the conclusion of treatment, two more assessments were given at a one-year, and 10-year follow up.

Respect, effective communication, empathy, and morality are the cornerstones of cultural competency. Healthcare professionals are advocates for patients and learning the beliefs, behaviors, and being sensitive to other’s way of life is critical in patient care. Obstacles for culturally competent care include xenophobia, prejudice, bigotry, stereotyping, as well as an aversion or misunderstanding of western medicine within the US healthcare system due to an unfamiliarity or a lack of knowledge of practices. It is imperative that one puts their own judgements and assumptions aside, a positive rapport is built, and effective communication is always achieved when caring for patients to ensure the best possible care is given. It is a healthcare

In order to fully grasp an understanding of the importance of cultural competency in healthcare, it is vital to be aware of the demographic shifts in the United States alone, as it is rapidly growing and increasingly becoming more diverse. In 2006, about one in three Americans was a minority (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007) and Hispanics have surpassed African Americans as the largest minority group, comprising 15% of the population. The demographic shifts are changing so rapidly that the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2042, no single ethnic group will comprise the majority percentage of the population. In turn, this would make more than half of Americans a member of a minority group. With these changing demographics, every healthcare worker will care for culturally diverse clients and need to know how to provide culturally relevant care.

In the United States it is estimated that by 2043, nonwhite racial and ethnic populations will compose more than 50 percent of all Americas, (Yan and Fitzpatrick, 2016). Areas like Central Ohio will see an increase in their diverse population. This means that more people who are of a diverse culture will have to use medical services. As of right now, there are many health disparities when it comes to the ethnic population. With a shift in demographics, the health sector in various central Ohio counties has proven that they are not prepared enough to handle a diverse community. There are many reasons as to why cultural competence is lacking in health care. From racism, lack of proper education, lack of diversity in the workforce,

As the United States becomes a more racially and ethnically diverse nation, opportunities and challenges for health care providers to generate and use culturally competent services is growing rapidly. At our hospital our providers need to respond to patients’ varied perspectives, values, and behaviors about health and well-being. We must effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural, and language needs of our patients. When we fail to understand and manage our social and cultural differences it has significant health consequences for minority groups.

Interacting with patients of diverse backgrounds and origins requires physicians to be highly culturally aware so as to create a trust between themselves and their patients. There are many aspects of a patient’s life that may manifest into their overall health, such as the social determinants of health. Culture may play a vital role in a person’s social outlook on life, and understanding cultural disparities is essential in delivering the highest level of patient care. Being culturally unaware hinders a physician from being able to treat patients from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, being culturally competent as well as having the skills to deal with cultural disparities effectively equips a physician to be able to travel anywhere in the world and deliver patient care as well as deliver patient care to a larger population within their own

Note: Always make objectives measurable, e.g., 3 out of 5 times, 100%, learn 3 skills, etc., unless they are measurable on their own as in “List and discuss [issue] weekly…”

From the self-assessment survey for quality and culture I took, I would like to improve and understand how cultural competence can have a real impact on clinical outcomes. There are a few questions I was surprised that I answered them incorrectly. Now I do understand that what I learned in this culturally competence class will help me become more efficient in cultural competence, to provide quality care to all my patients regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnic, but it will take consistent individual practice, patience, and training on my part to develop and maintain that. I have learned that being culturally competent and implementing sound cultural competency techniques, will help to increase health access and reduce health disparities among different racial and ethnic groups. Cultural competence can lead to, health literacy, health equity, and fewer diagnostic errors, which might help the patient expand their choices and access high quality medical providers because the patient is no longer restricted to a small pool of clinicians who share their culture.

The population of Asian Americans is “proportionally the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States”(Hall, Hong, Zane & Meyer, 2011 p. 215) and is expected to rise to 8 percent of the total population within the next six years (Park, Chesla, Rehm & Chun, 2011). As the population rises culture becomes increasingly important in caring for patients of Asian descent. Language barriers are not the only cultural complication, “equally important is the providers’ ability to understand the culturally specific needs of minority clients and to adjust their approach to care accordingly” (Park, Chesla, Rehm & Chun, 2011 p. 2374) Culturally competent care for Asian individuals is characterized by three essential components: cultural brokering, supporting