Family Medicine Pregnancy Program

There has been much study into how culture can impact the quality of health care, but not enough education on what can specifically be changed or how to change it. In The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down, a comprehensive example is presented using the implications of culture on the healthcare of a little girl named Lia Lee. Through evaluation, I have identified five major areas and examples of each that exemplify the clash of cultures presented in this book: Environmental Controls, Social Organization, Communication, Space, and

“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 competency aids in closing the “disparities gap” in health care. ("OMH," 2012, para. 2) In doing so, health professionals and their clients are better able to discuss concerns without cultural differences getting in the way of effective communication and problem solving. Being respectful of and sensitive to the client’s health beliefs, culture, values, and diverse needs can bring positive outcomes within treatment and patient care. After all, is it not the main job of the health care provider to ensure patient trust? Open forms of communication when dealing with client issues can only be provided if the patient is comfortable with his provider and believes his

The field of cross-cultural care mainly focuses on the ability to communicate in an effective way so that proper health care is provided to patients with from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. Unfortunately, there is no empirical literature comparing the effectiveness of different models of cross-cultural care and communication. However, there is a strong empirical evidence which shows that educating health care clinicians in cross-culture care can significantly improve skills, knowledge and attitude. (9, 10)

Health in all cultures is an important aspect of life. A person’s cultural background, religion and/or beliefs, greatly influences a person’s health and their response to medical care (Spector, 2004). These diverse cultures guide decisions made in daily life; what food eaten, living arrangements made, medications taken and medical advice listened to. A nurse must be knowledgeable and respectful of these diverse cultures and understand their importance when providing care. This understanding helps to build a strong nurse/patient relationship, increasing patient compliance, which ensures positive outcomes are met. Patients who are satisfied

I am a Brazilian black male with military experience and diplomatic knowledge who grew up in a low-income household in a developing country. In addition, I have traveled to about 35 countries and am acquainted with people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, ethnic groups and nationalities. These characteristics and experiences allow me to see the world from perspectives that are unusual for most people. Besides being open-minded and non- judgemental toward all my future patients, I personally understand the difficulties faced by people of color, immigrants and individuals from low-income families. In sum, my background and my cultural literacy will allow me to be a sensitive and culturally aware patient-centered care.

A vital foundation for a high-quality care delivery is an efficacious communication between the patient and the healthcare providers (Gengler & Jarrell, 2015). Fadiman (1997) recounted the conflict between a refugee family from Laos and a small hospital in California over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, in her book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Despite both sides wanting the best care for Lia, the lack of cross-cultural communication between her Hmong family and her American doctors, lead to her tragedy (Fadiman, 1997). Awareness regarding the disparities in culture and language of our patient with ours and how to address them should be taken into account when providing healthcare since the life of a

Who is the person the nurse is caring for? Where is that person from? Does this person speak English, or understand what the caregiver is saying? What is this person’s cultural background? What are the health beliefs of this person, what are their illness beliefs and practices? These questions are answered differently depending upon the person and their heritage. As healthcare providers it is important to have a broad knowledge base in regards to different cultures and people’s practices to deliver effective health care. In 2006, the population of

I have had a variety of experiences that contributed to my overall motivation to become a health care professional. My passion for medicine began when I was an adolescent being evaluated and taken care of by my pediatrician, Dr. Gonzalez. As a kid, I loved being active and playing several sports. However, I consistently had shortness of breath, wheezing, and tightness in my chest during my sports competitions, which my parents quickly noticed. I visited Dr. Gonzalez who knew from the symptoms and experience that I have asthma and prescribed both an inhaler and nebulizer for me to prevent further complications which allow me an opportunity to continue playing sports. I began succeeding playing all sports, and was extremely grateful for her medical knowledge, support, and advice. I was ecstatic knowing that she was going to ensure I stayed healthy and also become successful in various ways. . In middle school, I began looking into the health care careers to explore my options. Now that I am older, I envision myself in Dr. Gonzalez’s position one day. I know I have all the right qualities to be an amazing, caring children doctor.

Throughout my research for the best Family Medicine Residency program, which will fit me. University of Minnesota, Family Medicine department, caught my eyes with a brilliant program, OB training, multicultural population and with the reputation of UMN, that only will reach my medical education and knowledge to a higher level. A great interest to move to Minnesota and discover the city with the opportunity to serve the community of Minnesota. I have a great confidence in UMN faculty, staff, and the state-of-the-art clinics which will help me be the Family Medicine doctor I have always wanted to be.

I’ve always enjoyed visiting Montreal and look forward to becoming fluent in French. I aim to challenge myself so I can be a well-rounded physician and build long-term relationships with my patients. I will bring my determination to work hard, responsibility and be a team player in your residency program. Family medicine is right for me because it encompasses several areas in medicine and lifelong learning making it an exciting profession with new challenges to face every

Throughout this paper I will be pulling information from the Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model. It is pertinent for health care workers to be familiar with this model because of the growing affects that culture has on a patient’s view of disease prevention and health restoration. This model focuses on six cultural phenomena: communication, time, space, social organization, environmental control, and biological variations. It is important for nurses to utilize this tool while performing assessments on patients because of the substantial effects that each one has on a patient’s perspective. Every person is unique and knowing that no one perspective is universal will aid the nurse in treating each patient with culturally competent care.

Today when people move across continents with the help of technology their culture and heritage moves along with them. Almost each and every continent is populated with people from different nations who have diverse traditions and cultures. Thus knowledge of health traditions and culture plays a vital role in nursing. People from different cultures have a unique view on health and illness. Culture-specific care is a vital skill to the modern nurse, as the United States continues to consist of many immigrants who have become assimilated into one culture. I interviewed three families of different cultures: - Indian (my culture), Hispanic and Chinese. Let us see the differences in health traditions between these cultures.

There are many cultures out in the world today that practice beliefs different than those in the United States. America is based off Western Culture and traditional medicine practices which focus on preventative and curative medicine. Most cultures around the world practice folk medicine, which focus more on the person as a whole with remedies and ceremonies rather than medicine and treatment. Even though each one believes in a different practice, all medical professionals should have the knowledge and awareness of each culture’s health beliefs to properly treat their patients in a respectful and kind

I studied medicine in one of the top universities in the Middle East that is University of Baghdad, College of Medicine. My training was in Baghdad Medical Center, the biggest teaching hospital in Iraq, which provided me with the best teaching and training in the country. After graduation, I did my internship in several hospitals in Baghdad. During that time, my country went through crisis situations, with lack of many basic services and security. I faced a wide range of medical cases that needed to be managed under highly stressful conditions, which helped in developing my clinical and social skills. I was introduced to all specialties of medicine, and that was the time when Family Medicine started to be my biggest interest. Family physicians are not better than other doctors, but they are different. They continue to be the heart and soul of medicine. More than any other specialty, family doctors humanize the health care experience. Focusing their attention on the person, not just the disease, they are driven to develop relationships over generations with the patients and families they care for.