Cultural Competency

“Americans can take come pride in the fact that attaining what the medical profession calls “cultural competency” is a goal of most health care institutions. However, achieving this goal in today’s health care environment, filled with diverse patient and provider populations, is no easy task. American hospitals are increasingly being staffed by and serving diverse populations. This creates the ideal breeding ground for conflict and misunderstanding among the staff and inferior patient care” (Galanti, 2011). To gain a more thorough understanding of this concept, I will be giving four examples or viewpoints that are completely different, when looking at the Hispanic belief against the Native American point of view.

In rural Iowa, there are few individuals who are knowledgeable of the Hispanic culture due to the small number of Hispanic individuals that have sought out care in the past. Recently, there has been an influx the number of Hispanic Americans seeking care in this area, making the delivery of culturally sensitive communication and care an important topic. According to DeNisco & Barker (2016), the nature of nursing care encompasses the need to be aware of cultural diversity (p. 581). Meaning that nurses need to strive for cultural competence to reach the societies expectations in the delivery of nursing care (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). We are going to take a look at how nurses can make a few changes that will make providing culturally competent care to the Hispanic population easier in these settings.

In 1988 Giger and Davidhizar created their Transcultural Assessment Model (TAM) to facilitate “…the discovery of culturally sensitive facts… (and) provide culturally appropriate and competent care.” (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002) The TAM was developed for an undergraduate nursing curriculum to train students to assess and provide care for patients that are culturally diverse. This paper will employ the six cultural phenomena defined by TAM to assist in identifying cultural attributes of Mexican Americans that should be considered by nurses in assessment and care.

It is essential when entering health care as a professional nurse to realize that health care workers, doctors, nurses, and other health care providers, form their own culture with their own beliefs and attitudes about the care that’s delivered and the patients whom they serve. Because there are significant barriers to health care for Hispanics, particularly those that are Mexican-American, in order to provide culturally competent care, the professional nurse must implement effective communication, convey respect to the patient, and take a thorough health history from each patient. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the background of the Mexican-American Hispanic patient, compare and contrast their culture to the culture of those that work in health care in the United States, and recommendations for the professional nurse using Purnell’s Cultural Theory for support and a reflection on Wellness Day for Health Promotion focusing on Hispanic heritage including Curanderismo.

Hispanics continue to be underserved and understudied with the lack of set guidelines to evaluate the efficacy of cultural developments and implemented interventions as proven with the scarcity of studies for review. Concerns arise with the potential a population of this magnitude has incurring economic burden due to non-adherence given their cultural beliefs, practices and socioeconomic status. Disciplines in healthcare delivery would benefit by incorporating cultural understanding in their practice as it is imperative in establishing trust, compliance and patient satisfaction (Martin, Williams, Haskard, & DiMatteo, 2005). This paper will incorporate an adaptive framework amenable to the Hispanic culture that can explore and describe contributing factors of patient satisfaction regarding their healthcare delivery. Application of a cultural theoretical framework that evokes reliant provider-patient relationship and will stimulate consideration of possible interventions for the future that ensues evidence-based quality outcomes.

Cultural competent? What is the big deal? “The term cultural competence is used to describe a set of skills, values and principles that acknowledge, respect and work towards optimal interactions between the individual and the various cultural and ethnic groups that an individual might come in contact with” (HumanServicesEDU, para. 1). Being able to understand and effectively understand other cultures than your own, can make a huge difference in the patient’s treatment and how well the case manager can do his or her job.

Another outstanding point that you made in reference to applying cultural competence in your personal life is phenomenal. I believe getting to know who we are will help us pinpoint the areas that are not the strongest when providing cultural care to patients. Allowing us to work on our weaknesses and become proficient in the areas we lack. In order for us to become an expert in cultural competency and cultural care we need to apply it in every aspect of our lives.

Cultural competency is an essential skill for family physicians because of increasing ethnic diversity among patient populations. Culture, the shared beliefs and attitudes of a group, shapes ideas of what constitutes illness and acceptable treatment. A cross-cultural interview should elicit the patient’s perception of the illness and any alternative therapies he or she is undergoing as well as facilitate a mutually acceptable treatment plan. Patients should understand instructions from their physicians and be able to repeat them in their own words. To protect the patient’s confidentiality, it is best to avoid using the patient’s family and friends as interpreters. Potential cultural conflicts between a physician and patient include differing

An individual’s folk remedies and customs should be just as valued as professional care practices to ensure culturally competent care. Purnell (2005), noted it is important to be familiar with and sensitive to special events, activities, meaning of holidays, and other ethnic celebrations and the special foods that are served at these times.

Each one of us differs in culture; and because we differ in Culture, we individualistically perceive a situation indifferently. What is viewed by the U. S culture isn’t perceived the same from someone from a different culture. Each culture has different opinions; so how we see reality (the situation at hand) is different. Therefore, how we perceive the world isn’t really how it is because others will see it differently. And at times, we struggle to acknowledge other cultural differences, which intern leaves us to project and compare our perception of ourselves to others. Furthermore, this is why I believe cultural competence in psychology has the knowledge and skills to make a decision in someone else’s cultural context. Cultural competence in psychology has the knowledge and expertise to make a decision in someone else’s cultural context.

No culture is growing at a faster pace than the Hispanic population, surpassing African Americans as the largest minority population in the United States. The Hispanic population increased from 35.3 million to 50.5 million in 2010. The intention of this paper is to increase the awareness and understanding of cultural competency and cultural sensitivity toward the Hispanic culture. Cultural competency cannot be overemphasized as it plays an imperative role in the quality of care that is given to different cultures. A culturally insensitive encounter can lead to

As a native New Mexican woman with many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds (Hispanic, African American, Native American), I feel I can influence Midwifery practice in New Mexico. New Mexico is a state with deep cultural roots and traditions. Often providers are aware of their patients’ cultural practices but are unaware of how to incorporate them into the patient’s care. Culturally competent care should be emphasized

The provision of culturally appropriate care involves meeting the expectations of diverse groups of clients by identifying, respecting and promoting their individual cultural characteristics and practices. (Grewal:291) In the context of maternal health care, cultural safety has significant implications for health care accessibility for immigrant women, whose identities represent myriad cultures.

Hispanics have various origins and come from different areas of the world. Whether it’s language, food, music, beliefs, or traditions, Hispanic culture is spreading across the nation and making an impact on our country as a whole. The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Model was developed in 1988. It is a way for nursing students to learn to assess and provide care for patients that were culturally diverse. The model includes six cultural phenomena: communication, time, space, social organization, environmental control, and biological variations. These provide a framework for patient assessment, and assist in competent culturally sensitive care in the medical field. In our presentation, we will discuss some of the key characteristics of Hispanic

In getting to know Dr. Guerrero and her cultural history the “Purnell Model for Cultural Competence” is being used. This model provides a framework on which health-care providers learn about different cultures by asking appropriate questions and how to use this information to provide culturally congruent healthcare to their clients. (Purnell, 2013, p. 15)