Cultural Competence in Nursing Essay

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).

“Health is influenced by culture and beliefs” (NRS-429V, 2011, p. 1). In order for the nurse to properly care for the patient, she must know and understand the patient’s culture. “Cultural care is a comprehensive model that includes the assessment of a client’s cultural needs, beliefs, and health care practices” (NRS-429V, 2011, p. 1). It is not enough to just know where the patient lives or where he came from. The nurse must embrace the concept of cultural competence and cultural awareness. This requires not only the awareness of the cultural beliefs and values of their patients, but also

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

The Culture Care Theory was selected because it is important for nurses to embrace, understand, and have an open-mind when it comes to assessing patients, understanding their cultural backgrounds, and creating treatment plans that will promote health amongst the patients. Being biased, judgmental, and narrow-minded are not indicative of the Culture Care Theory. Implementing the Culture Care Theory within the Master’s

Cultural competence in nursing is imperative for effective patient care. A nurse must know his or her own values and beliefs as well as knowing about a patient cultural practices in relation to healthcare. Cultural competence is defined by some as: “the learned, shared and transmitted values, beliefs, norms and lifeways of a particular group that guides their thinking, decisions and actions.” Also it is noted that an important change to this definition is “the recognition of the dynamic,

Spousal involvement in the delivery of a child is limited. A nurse may feel that the husband is showing no spousal support or compassion to his wife. During the delivery the nurse can encourage him to give his wife support verbally, but the nurse must understand according to the Jewish laws, if a woman is unclean with mucous discharge, bloody show, or amniotic fluid. The husband may exit the room as he is not allowed stay in the room with his wife while she is being examined, unless she is fully covered and will not be exposed to him. To be considered clean again after childbirth or menstruation , the women must go to a ritual bath called the " Mikveh".

Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and

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.

Nurses have the responsibility of caring for a diverse group of people. These people come from different cultures, races, and religious backgrounds. Religion plays a major role in patient care and has for many years. Cultural competency is a major component of nursing practices. Understanding culture is imperative in knowing what is important to a patient and how to address his or her healthcare needs. Understanding culture is also important when determining what suggestions to make about interventions for treatment. Culture is defined as many people interacting and sharing with one another their patterns of behavior, beliefs and values (Burkhardt, G. & Nathaniel, A., 2014).

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.

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.

Nursing is a very diverse and rewarding career. In the healthcare profession nurses are trained to give competent care to all persons regardless of race, age, and cultural belief. The term competent means having the ability, skill and knowledge to accomplish a task in a successful way (Hicks 2012). The increasing multicultural population in the United States of America introduces a challenge to nurses on providing cultural competent care to patients. This requires nurses to observe cultural differences in healthcare values and beliefs. Culturally competent nursing care helps the patient and families to have a positive outcome with healthcare experience. The American Nurses Association (ANA) states “nurses should practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and unique attributes of every person” (Winland-Brown, Lachman & O’Connor Swanson 2015). The thesis of this paper is to discuss the cultural competent of nurses giving effective patient- centered care in the Hispanic culture.

Diversity based on ethnic background, religion, race, and language is rising each day. Due to globalization multiculturalism is increasing. The healthcare providers are responsible for practicing according to the different culture. Since nurses are the main advocates for their patient they should provide maximum holistic and culturally competent care to their clients. Nurses should take of the patients as the patients want to be treated. In order to provide best quality of care, nurses should be educated in cultural competence. Adapting to different cultural beliefs and practices requires flexibility and a respect for others view points. According to the textbook, cultural competence is having “the attitude, knowledge, and skills necessary for providing quality care to diverse population.” Cultural competent nurses have the ability to work effectively across cultures. The main aim of the nurses is to provide patient-centered care with an emphasis on the patients’ specific needs that are formed by their culture.

Culture competence is a quality that any nurse should have. The article that I decided to research refers to the impact that language and different cultures have on a patient’s health. It is the duty of health care professionals to attempt to learn about different cultures and to be sensitive to the way patient’s feel about their beliefs. Once the nurse understands a patient’s