Cultural competence can be used as a strategy to improve quality healthcare and help in getting over racial and ethnic disparities. It is only one solution to reducing racial/ethnic disparities in the healthcare systems. With that said many health care facilities are taking part in cultural competence. Although in this topic we are dealing with healthcare, cultural competence can be utilized within most businesses such as retail, the military and other government related jobs (Harris, 2011) as well as the food industry. With that said, Cultural competence has become a popular strategy within the healthcare world. Before I begin to explain how I would incorporate Cultural Competence into my work environment, I feel as though I must first explain what Cultural Competence is. Cultural Competence is when you bring employees together of various cultural backgrounds as well as those that have different values, beliefs, Attitudes and behaviors to form a system that helps them work together effectively (Ingram, 2012). Cultural Competency is very important in any work environment because it opens up communication between co-workers in conversations so that they can work together without barriers. When health providers and workers can come together to help each other better understand patients and their different beliefs as well as value them it helps in serving each patients unique needs (Campinha-Bacote, 2011). Some of the patient that may fall under cultural competency are those
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
Cultural competence is focused on learned behaviors and actions and can be pertain and individual, organization or policy (Oelke, Thurston, & Arthur, 2013). Ideally, a healthcare providers’ practice would only be influenced by the individual patient and/or the community of which the patient resides. But in reality, the healthcare providers’ practice and care is influenced by many entities, such as the
Cultural Competency is often defined as a set of consistent behaviours, policies, and attitudes, which all interrelate in an agency, system, or even among professionals. These behaviours, policies, and attitudes all allow systems and professionals to efficiently work in cross-cultural situations (Cross et al 1989, as cited in Commonwealth of Australia, 2006). As Australia is a multicultural country individuals within the population are encouraged to have different values. By incorporating culture while providing health care services, its objective is to improve health and wellbeing. Certain characteristics from healthcare workers and the health care system are required in order for the services to be qualified as ‘culturally competent’.
Cultural competence is defined as possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to appreciate, respect, and work with individuals from different cultures. It is a concept that requires self-awareness, awareness and understanding of cultural differences, and the ability to adapt to clinical skills and practices as needed
Critically analyse one of the main challenges, barriers, and enablers for cultural competence in health care when working in a cross-cultural environment.
Cultural Competence Cultural competence has big impact on today’s society. Health care institutions need to be able to provide proper care to every patient. Cultural competence is about learning about different ethnic backgrounds. Everyone feels the need get social support in a health environment, especially here in the U.S.
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.
What is cultural competence? When reading our book and looking at scholarly articles for me to sum up what I think cultural competence is, I found myself rereading each definition over and over. To me cultural competence is understanding that each person is unique and their care should be as well. Truong, Paradies, & Priest (2014) state “cultural competency is a broad concept used to describe a variety of interventions that aim to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of health care services for people from racial/ethnic minorities”. It is important for a healthcare worker to not stereotype a person based on their appearance or race. Not all people that appear alike believe in the same things. In their article Patient-centered care:
Before one can discuss the importance of cultural competency, we must first understand what it is. But is culture? Furthermore, what is competence? To answer the first question - culture is, “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time” (Merriam-Webster dictionary). With that understanding, what is competence? Also, according to the same source, competence is “a sufficiency of means for the necessities and conveniences of life. Now that we have broken down these two words, I will be utilizing them together to introduce the importance and downfalls of its effects on the world's (more specifically America’s) healthcare system.
Cultural competence is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies, among professionals enabling them to work competently in cross cultural events. It is the ability to provide care to patients with diverse beliefs, behaviors, and values. This also involves meeting a patient 's cultural, language, and social needs. Health care related disparities, changing demographics and globalization make it important that nurses are culturally competent in the workplace. To do this, nurses must be able to engage in cultural self assessment, value diversity, and be culturally aware. Nurses must also understand and effectively respond to cultural differences. As a culturally competent nurse, you will have a more effective interaction with patients and families.
Having a foundation for being both culturally diverse and culturally aware as a provider of the healthcare team is critical. Cultural education should begin as the nursing student and continue through the life of the career. Adaptation of cultural competency proves positive patient outcomes during the entire nursing process. According to Galanti, (2008) “The path to cultural competence involves learning about, understanding and respecting the values and beliefs of others, and being able to apply the knowledge to provide better care for patients of diverse ethnic backgrounds” (p. ix).
Cultural competence is the ability to interact well with people of different cultural backgrounds (Rundle, 2002). It provides the best ways of meeting the needs of diverse patient population which is always on the increase, as well as ways of effectively advocating for them. This means that cultural competence has the benefit of enabling nurses to deliver services that respect and effectively respond to health beliefs and practice needs of diverse patients. Through the process of globalization, nurses are moving to places of nursing shortage to offer their knowledge and skills beyond their home
Adapting to different cultural beliefs and practices requires flexibility and a respect for others view points. Cultural competence means to really listen to the patient, to find out and learn about the patient's beliefs of health and illness. To provide culturally appropriate care we need to know and to understand culturally influenced health behaviors. However, becoming culturally competent is a much more daunting task. Culture (and ethnicity) often influences a patient’s perceptions of health and illness. Therefore, if healthcare providers appear insensitive to cultural diversity, their actions may negatively affect the quality of the healthcare that they provide.
103). Building cultural competency allows the nurse to understand the specific needs of an individual, which will help decrease health care disparities overall. Unfortunately, cultural competency doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to develop the knowledge and skills needed for competency; however, there are many different models to help nurses reach that point. One example given by Potter & Perry (2017) is the Campinha-Bacote model, which “has five interrelated components: cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skills, cultural encounters, and cultural desire” (p. 104-105). The purpose of this model is for “nurses to see themselves as becoming rather than being culturally competent” (Potter & Perry, 2017, p. 104) since it is a long, active process. Overall, cultural competency is beneficial to both the nurse and the patient because the nurse can assess the patient’s health status within a specific world view, thus creating an important relationship needed to provide patient-centered
The cultural competence starts with the understanding and reflecting one’s culture to further understand another culture. Hence, provides efficient, quality health care to a multicultural society. The effectiveness of the health care services among the health care providers embrace the unlimited and continuous understanding and broad perspective of an open-minded connection with the increasing diversity of the society.