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Cultural Sensitivity On The Part Of Nurses Towards Jewish People

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It may seem that there would not need to be much cultural sensitivity on the part of nurses towards Jewish people. After all, Jews have been intricately involved in American culture and history almost from the beginning of America. This melding of the Jewish culture into popular American culture is shown in many ways. For example, many Yiddish words are part of American colloquial English. Shalom is a Hebrew word that is commonly used by Jewish people to mean “peace”, “hello”, or “good-bye” (Bralock & Padgham, 2017, p. 513). Shalom may be a common Jewish word, but it has been read, heard, and even used by non-Jews. In fact, a number of Yiddish words have made it into popular and colloquial English usage. These include words such as…show more content…
514). My interviewee, Elyssa, a young Jewish woman of twenty-eight, however believes that this generality is not true of the younger generation of Jews who tend to be more reserved with their demeanor, expressing themselves more with a sense of humor and sarcasm. According to Culture Vision (n.d.) Jewish dogma teaches that “It is everyone 's duty to maintain and preserve his or her own good health (both physical and mental)”. This does not mean that even Orthodox Jews avoid medical assistance. It merely means that their approach may be limited by Jewish beliefs. For example, Elyssa states, “more religious Jews may want to consult a rabbi with certain medical decisions, especially if more ethically questionable. Also, even Jewish people who strictly observe the Sabbath are able to break it for life saving measures. However, the needed medical treatment is not lifesaving they may well refuse to participate in it on the Jewish Sabbath. For example, a patient in the hospital might prefer to delay a test or even a procedure if it is not literally emergent and likely necessary to preserve life and health permanently” (E. Jankelovitz, person communication, January 20, 2017). Despite this it is important to remember that Jewish people not only want immediate relief during illness but also worry about what the
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