Cultural Competence Research Paper

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

I enjoyed reading your thoughtful discussion post on cultural competency of organizations and nurses. Your rationale for both the organization and the individual nurse being responsible to ensure culturally competent care was similar to mine. For example, I mentioned the need for nursing curriculums at all levels of nursing education to provide competency training (American Academy of Colleges of Nursing website, 2011).

“The new mestiza copes by developing a tolerance for contradictions, a tolerance for ambiguity. She learns to be an Indian in Mexican culture, to be Mexican from an Anglo point of view. She learns to juggle cultures. She has a plural personality, she operates in a pluralistic mode—nothing is thrust out, the good, the bad, and the ugly, nothing rejected, nothing abandoned. Not only does she sustain contradictions, she returns the ambivalence into something else”

I have learned that it is important that educators  and health providers be trained on cultural competency to understand the population they are serving. Marks, Sims, and Osher (King, Sims, & Osher, n.d.) define cultural competency  as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross–cultural situations" ( as cited in Cross et al., 1989; Isaacs & Benjamin, 1991). Health providers and educators should investigate demographic patterns or trends in the place where they live and work. This brings awareness of the types of cultures that they might come across when they are working with people. Organizations should integrate and implement policies that promote the value of  diversity, self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of communities they serve (Georgetown  University, 2004). Georgetown University (2004) also stresses that culture competency grows gradually and is always open for improvement.

1. What is cultural competence for nurses? Cultural competence for nurses “is a combination of culturally congruent behaviors, practice attitudes, and policies that allow nurses to work effectively in a cross- cultural situations. (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2018, p. 74).

To work effectively in a foreign community, it is crucial that short-term nurses have an understanding of culture, belief system, and their lifestyles. Nurses needs to be culturally competence in order to provide patient centered effective healthcare. Culture competence is the ability of healthcare professionals to understand the social, cultural and linguistic needs of patients in order to provide effective health care (Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, 2004).   A lack of culture competence can lead to poor patient outcome. For example, if a nurse has a poor understanding of a diabetic patient's diet, and food preference, that could inhibit the nurse's ability to educate patient to manage the disease.

Introduction and Aims “A police officer who killed an unarmed college football player during a suspected burglary at a Texas car dealership was fired Tuesday for making mistakes that the city's police chief said caused a deadly confrontation that put him and other officers in danger. The officer, identified by the department as 49-year-old Brad Miller, graduated from the police academy in March 2015. He has been in field training and working under the supervision of a training officer, the department said. The training officer and other officers were on the scene when the shooting occurred, Rodriguez said” (The Brownsville Herald, 2015 August 11).

I believe I can improve my cultural competence by learning to understand the opinions of family members about the intervention process with older and elderly individuals. I enjoy helping and serving people, so it is hard for me to understand that some patients and families do not want to seek help. I need to learn to set my own opinions aside and be competent toward the wants and needs of the family.

Human Services is a profession that experiences an elevated degree of varied cultures. Therefore, cultural competency is significant for human service professionals. Cultural competence illustrates a set of skills, values and principles that recognizes value and work towards the most favorable interactions involving the individual and the various cultural professionals work with (“Understanding Cultural Competency,” 2015). In the reading of this paper, I will enhance the knowledge of culture in human services focusing on Culture Competency: Intergenerational Welfare Dependency. I will also clarify how culture and the article selected are relevant to the program or area of practice that I identify with.

People live very different lives. Culture is a major importance in everyone lives. Everyone has customs that they follow, and somethings are more bizarre than others. But it may be bizarre in one persons ' eyes, and be completely normal to another. Having the ability to understand one 's culture and heritage can really help you have a better understanding of where they come from. In the medical it is very important to understand where an individual is coming regarding culture. From understanding their language, to understanding what they are against in the world of medicine is a difference between life and death for some of these individuals.

Understand cultural competence and why is it important especially for that have a diverse workforce.

Cultural competence is significant especially for group leaders since groups have so much diversity. “To provide competent supervision, supervisors must assist trainees in conceptualizing diversity issues, becoming aware of personalizations related to diversity, and generating diversity-competent interventions at all levels of group work interaction (Okech & Rubel, 2007, para. 4). Okech and Rubel (2007) researched the integration of cultural competency into the supervision of group work model (SGW). The SGW model focuses on the supervision cultivating the group leaders to be competent “on learning to meet the needs of individuals within a one-on-one relationship, as well as successfully understanding and intervening in subsystems and the group-as-a-whole

In today’s society, being able to communicate or participate in the exchange of information effectively is an essential skill for much of the healthcare providers in America today. Providing patient-centered care involves learning to communicate effectively with various barriers even with those patients who speak a different language than English. There are patients with other ethnicities and culturally influenced health behaviors that can be different than the health care beliefs of the most clinicians in this country.

After completing the “cultural competence checklist: personal reflection designed by T.D. Goode” for the first time, I was not surprised by my results. The results were a reflection of my personal understanding how culture impacts holistic care and my continuous need to improve my care. I have strived to become non-judgmental. I work to not let my personal beliefs and values influence my nursing care on decisions. When I practice this philosophy it provides better patient outcomes and promotes an improved understanding of cultural differences. This also enhances a safe and caring environment. “It is important for health care providers to recognize that care must be individualized and considerate of the cultural. Racial, and ethnic identity of the patients and their families” (Broome, 2006, p. 486) .There is much diversity in the beliefs and practices of the Indian culture and we should grant these individuals complete freedom to practice their personal cultural variations and the religion they choose.

My first reaction to the first point of the Cultural Competence Continuum was how cultural destructiveness prevents social workers from keeping an open mind to the diversity of their clients and placing judgments upon them. Refusing to acknowledge and adapt methods that benefit the diversity of a client leads to inadequate help and inequality when assessing a client. I believe I need to continue to study and educate myself on the systems and history of oppression and avoid stereotyping in every respect. Cultural incapacity is a narrow minded and self centered viewed that creates a sense of inferiority over the client. My reflection echoes the words of Holocaust survivor and author, Elie Wiesel. He stated, "No human race is superior; no religious