Cultural Awareness in Nursing My southern heritage has directly influenced the person I am today. I grew up in South Louisiana and I have lived there all 25 years of my life. My childhood was not easy, but I think those tough situations prepared me for life, and taught me the value of family. I attended a private, Christian school and I am so appreciative of my parent’s sacrifices that allowed me to receive that education. I would describe myself as a kind, hardworking individual who respects, cares for, and values others. I believe these attributes are a genuine reflection of my upbringing. My Christian faith is what motivates me each day and it is also what has inspired me to help others through a career in nursing. I was taught …show more content…
I am appreciative of the cultural interactions provided by my college experience as I feel well-equipped for working with diversity in my future profession as a nurse. In particular, I am thankful for the opportunity I have had this semester to not only get to know a fellow nursing student from Nigeria, but I am privileged to now call her a dear friend. In order to get to know my interviewee, E. E., it is important to learn about her distinct heritage. She has such an interesting story that even prior to this interview, I found myself eager to learn more about her and her life in Nigeria. While researching about the Nigerian culture, I gathered information related to traditional language, religion, diet, values, gender roles, and health practices. In doing so, I was able to get a glimpse of what it might be like to live in Nigeria and ultimately, I gained insight to the culture that made E. E. the inspiring person she is today. According to the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abu Dhabi (2013), Nigeria is a country in West Africa that it is primarily composed of three distinct ethnic groups: Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo. Of these groups, the Igbo are known for being the most professionally oriented and independent in the country. English is the primary language, although many Nigerians speak multiple languages, including one or more of the 400 native languages. There are also two major trade languages, pidgin and
The culture of nursing is to provide culturally competent care, care based on principles of social justice and human rights (Douglas et al., 2011). This principle within health care is the belief that every individual is entitled to equal opportunities for health care while protecting dignity (Douglas et al., 2014). Consequently, best practices in culturally competent nursing care reduced health disparities using patient empowerment while integrating cultural beliefs into patient care and expanding health care access to vulnerable groups (Douglas et al., 2011).
I was born and raised in the Philippines. I identify myself with the Filipino culture. I chose to learn about the Mexican culture, so I have interviewed my coworker. The interview was focused on the meaning of food in their culture and its impact on their health.
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 undeniably assorted, multicultural population in the United States is putting forth new difficulties in the arrangement of cultural care by nurses in general. An immediate relationship exists between a patients way of life and their well being; of the numerous factors known to impact health beliefs and practices, culture is a standout amongst the most compelling. In the event that the arrangement of the most ideal care to all patients is the objective, nurses must have aptitude and ability in the conveyance of culturally proper and cultivation equipped nursing care. Each nurse must play a dynamic part in getting a data base whereupon to build up a social competency. The capacity to convey nursing care that will permit powerful communications
Cultural competence embraces: ... gaining knowledge of different cultural practices and world views. Developing skills for communication and interaction across cultures.[ There is excellent evidences shows that cultural competence training improves the knowledge of health profession), and good evidence that cultural competence training improves the attitudes and skills of health professionals and impacts patient satisfaction Cultural competence training shows promise as a strategy for improving the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of health professionals. . Directly interacting with patients from different cultural backgrounds helps nurses increase their cultural competence. s. Health care providers must possess the ability and the knowledge to communicate and to understand how health behaviors are influenced by culture. Having this ability and knowledge can eliminate barriers to the delivery of health care.
From the PowerPoint, Culturally Congruent Nursing Care Application to Family and Health, I learned what culture is and that it is a process. The number of immigrants in the United States is increasing and by 2050, it is predicted that they will make up over half the population. I also learned current immigration trends in Minnesota (Schoon, 2016). A trend I found to be interesting, “14% of immigrants hold an advanced degree, compared to 11% of US-born born adults” (Schoon, 2016, slide 9). When I say, culture is a process I mean that it is something you can learn (enculturation), acquire (acculturation), give up one and take a different (assimilation), or take two or more (biculturalism) (Schoon, 2016). Culture shapes family life by influencing
The population of the United States is continually rising. The birth rate continues to rise, but more importantly, the number of foreign-born immigrants that relocated to the United States in 2003 was a staggering 33.5 million, and that number rises every year (Jarvis, 2008). With such a large immigrant population comes the need for medical professionals that are culturally competent. Being culturally competent means that the caregivers, “understand and attend to the total context of the individual’s situation, including awareness of immigration status, stress factors, other social factors, and cultural similarities and differences” (Jarvis, 2008, p.38). Because the United States is so diverse, it is a federal
Having this knowledge and acceptance of other cultures enhance my skills as a nurse. I believe the nurse is the patients advocate and must be able to speak for a patient always. Through my experience I grew from a shy child to a confident woman who speaks up for others who may not have the voice to speak for themselves. I realize how words can affect people, even if you are not intending them to. I have sensed like I do not belong, and I would never want to make anyone feel that way. I am very open to learning about different cultures and strive to make people feel confident and safe in their own beliefs and culture.
This author also interviewed Jamie and Tina who are Navajo Americans. They both stated that in their cultures they utilize a medicine man to help with any sort of problem that someone in the family may have. According to Edelman and Mandle, “Native Americans believe that a state of health exists when a person lives in total harmony with nature.” (Edelman & Mandle,pg 42)When Native Americans feel they are out of harmony they will utilize a medicine man. The medicine man will perform ceremonies while using any number of items such as: music, plants, herbs and objects that are symbolic of the person in need of healing, the illness or the treatment. (Barber, 2012) Jamie stated that in her familiy it was customary to wake up, go outside and face east, say a blessing and use corn pollen on their heads and bodies. She stated this was done to
Cultural competence is the ability to effectively communicate with diverse groups of individuals to better care for them as well as interact. Cultural competence encompasses understanding your own bias towards another because of their different background, using respectful communication including body language, and the skill of conducting a cultural assessment while avoiding judgment. APRNs can become culturally competent by acquiring a set of attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge base to work effectively in cross-cultural situations (Purnell, 2013). Nursing is an ever-changing dynamic, adapting to its surrounding stimuli and shaped by societal norms, new discoveries, and sophisticated technology. So why is it important to incorporate cultural
The Triangle of Nursing: Compassion, Holistic Care, and Cultural Competence Making a personal theory for nursing is a major part of the nursing development. From being a new graduate nurse to becoming an experienced nurse, theories will change. Each time the theory changes, the knowledge of the nurse also changes. The nurse grows with their theory. As a new graduate nurse, my theory involves a triangle of care.
I have chosen this paper since I have been involved in care for the pediatric patients and families from various backgrounds. This increased my interest in effects of culturally sensitive care for children and their families.
Culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people such as, belief, behavior, values, customs that they accept and can be passed on from one generation to another. Cultural diversity is the presence of different cultural groups in the society, cultural diversity is something that nurses have to learn and practice every day in their carrier, especially when caring for their patients because, every individual or patient think, act and respond differently to different situations and level of their care. The purpose of this paper is to identify eight reasons why transcultural nursing is necessary specialty, describe the meaning of cultural diversity and it relationship to nursing and explain three ways I will provide culturally sensitive care to my patients (Andrews, Margaret M., and Joyceen S. Boyle, 2016)
To fully appreciate cultural differences, one must form a baseline into their own beliefs. Education and knowledge are the best resources for nurses to develop strategies when dealing with diversity in the healthcare setting. This discussions purpose is to provide self-defined definitions of cultural baggage, ethnocentrism, cultural imposition, prejudice, discrimination and cultural congruence. Define cultural self-assessment and explain why it is important then, describe the five steps in the process for delivering culturally congruent nursing care. Furthermore, this discussion post will build on diversity in nursing over the next five weeks.
It is evident that United States of America is a racially and ethnically diverse country. This diversity can contribute to healthcare challenges for nurses and providers that may decrease the quality of care for patients. It becomes more challenging when a culture’s health beliefs and practices contradict with the nurse’s own beliefs and practices. It is an integral role of a nurse to assess and identify a patient’s culture and health-related beliefs and concerns to provide maximum care of that particular patient. Filipino culture consists of health practices, perceptions, and beliefs that are not similar to U.S. culture. Serafica (2011) discusses on his article entitled, Concept Analysis of Acculturation in Filipino Immigrants Within Health Context, the Filipino immigrants’ level of acculturation in America in relation to “incorporating acculturation issues into nursing and healthcare.” Knowing the levels of acculturation will help the nurses and providers in addressing Filipino health problems in the hospital settings.