Creative Learning Through Cultural Competency

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).

From this article I have selected two of the points the author discussed that I found most interesting. The first is the need for cultural competence and cultural safety in nursing practice. The author then defines culture as distinct from ethnicity and race and points out the importance of cultural awareness in nursing education and being aware of the significant impact of the culture of the patient on professional practice and the consequences for relations between nurses and

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

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.

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.

As a future healthcare professional, developing cultural competence is necessary in order to be effective in the task of creating a safe environment for our patients where they can tell their story and receive the care they need. Health disparities are characterized by differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disease burden to specific populations groups in the United States (Raingruber, 204). These health disparities may be contributable to a number of factors such as age, gender, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and a myriad of other factors (Raingruber, 2014). In order to meet the challenge of reducing health disparities and improving the overall health care system, nurses must make efforts to engage and understand their patients from the frame of reference of their patient’s culture (Raingruber, 2014).

Haynes (2016) article, The Road to Cultural Competency Are We There yet? Stated that the key to decreasing health disparities in the workforce could be done by increasing diversity. Health disparities as indicated by Turk (2014), Issue: Nursing Workforce, can result in a more complicated societal problem. It was further stated, health disparities have received much attention and is currently identified as a priority issue in our nation. According to Haynes (2016), strategies which were recommended by the Sullivan Commission were done to increase the workforces of nursing should begin with education. Cultural competency as stated here should be a vital component of the nursing curriculum. Turk (2014) reported health disparities result in a more multifaceted societal burden. According to Turk (2014), decreasing health disparities has received significant attention. Individuals, including policymakers, academicians, and researchers are concerned about the diversification of the healthcare workforce of which strategies are being implemented by decreasing health disparities and increasing the availability of culturally competent among health care providers.

Cultural competence, or the ability of health care providers to function well in different cultural contexts [7], has increasingly become a focus in U.S. medical schools. More schools are recognizing the growth in national diversity and the importance of having a health care workforce armed with knowledge of how to remain culturally sensitive and aware to provide the best possible care for all patients. According to Kripalani et al., research shows that cultural competence can improve communication and collaboration efforts between the patient and physician, thereby improving clinical outcomes, and eventually reducing health disparities [14]. Additionally, cultural competency has been shown to correlate with quality care to minority populations [15]. However, the strides made towards cultural competence of physicians have not been consistent across all medical schools as some medical students are trained extensively in this field while others are not trained at all. It would not be an easy task as it would require changing the entire curriculum and getting support from administrators [13], but the hope is to integrate cultural competence into all medical school curricula to arm future physicians with the tools they need to care for those of all different

As the United States becomes more and more culturally diverse one cannot help but be exposed to various cultures and worldviews. America has long been called the melting pot, and that term has never been truer than it is today. According to Green and Reinckens (2013) the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by the year 2041 the U.S. population will be a majority minority. In other words, less than half of the population will be non-Hispanic, single race Caucasian. This growing diversity makes cultural competence in healthcare a necessary

It is complex in its compelling efforts to cultivate critical thinking communicators knowledgeable in the delivery of culturally sensitive care to clients spanning the entire range of the human spectrum. The faculty of Western Technical College nursing program believes that education involves far more than the mere delivery of information, where education entails the development of both academic aptitudes as well as fosters social responsibility.

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).

Unfortunately, the lack of culturally competent healthcare providers such as nurses, leads to negative patient outcomes and low quality healthcare. Culturally competent nurses are required to adequately treat our culturally diverse population. Nurses are frontline patient advocates and education and training in cultural competence is an intervention that will implement positive changes in healthcare delivery in the U.S.

As the United States becomes more and more culturally diverse one cannot help but be exposed to various cultures and worldviews. America has long been called the melting pot, and that term has never been truer than it is today. According to Green and Reinckens (2013) the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by the year 2041 the U.S. population will be a majority minority. In other words, less than half of the population will be non-Hispanic, single race Caucasian. This growing diversity makes cultural competence in healthcare a necessary requirement for effective

It is nice to have you and your experience in the class. I work in the ED but enjoy the diversity of everyone’s nursing experience. I feel it brings a great amount of knowledge to the weekly discussions. When addressing diversity and cultural competence related to patient care, I agree with you. While I live in southeastern North Carolina, I also serve a very diverse population and understand the importance of ensuring my health care practices are suited for a multitude of individuals. The area I currently serve is also impoverished and it is essential to practice while being creative to assist individuals with meeting their medical needs. I look forward to sharing discussions with you in this course.