Patients Cultural Beliefs

“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

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

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.

Evaluation of how family subscribes to these traditions and practices is offered in detail, while offering insight and/or reflection.It is essential for nurses to provide culturally sensitive care to each and every patient in order to establish repor and maintain a safe working relationship with each individual. To provide culturally sensitive care to a nurses patient’s he or she must first assess their own beliefs, values, and culture at large. The nurse can do this by using the Heritage Assessment Tool. This tool shows the nurse how important their heritage is to them and if they have adopted their ways of life from their family’s history and influence. This gives the nurse a starting point

Showing support and respect for cultural health beliefs creates a better interpersonal relationship between patient and physician. When implementing a wellness plan for the patient to follow the physician should take into consideration the beliefs of the patient. Health care providers should seek and obtain knowledge of their patient’s diverse cultures. Obtaining the knowledge of other cultures can be an valuable skill.

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).

Heritage is a cultural aspect or tradition that has been passed down through generations (Heritage Assessment, 2016). Why would the health professional need to know about a patient’s cultural background? How would this affect the care provided? Health care is specific to the individual needs of a patient, and no two are alike. Nurses should conduct an assessment of the patients’ cultural beliefs, values, religious beliefs, and practices. It is important to learn the meaning of the illness from the patients point of view. Data collected from the cultural assessment will help the patient and nurse to develop a mutual and culturally acceptable plan

As nurses, we adjust our care accordingly to each patient. It is vital that we not only assess our patients physically, but assess all aspects of their lives, including their cultures. For this paper I will discuss the key components of a comprehensive cultural assessment. I will also choose two of the key components and discuss my own culture and how it affects my attitude to culturally diverse care. Last, I will identify two nursing diagnoses that would relate to a patient with a culture other than my own, as well as give proper interventions.

Example: During my shift, I attended to people of various cultures. One of my patients is Hispanic. She was given an option of using an interpreter and she requested for an interpreter. I checked blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and oxygen saturation level. In addition, I did urine dip for some patients. Some of the ways to develop cultural competence are to know that culture is dynamic, become aware of culture in others, especially among client groups you serve, and develop the ability to work within others’ cultural context, free from ethnocentric judgments (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2014, p. 128).

When clinically assessing patients in care settings, it is paramount for health professionals to elicit pertinent information that could be crucial for delivery of care. This is particularly important in the United States because the increasing diversity in racial and ethnic composition of the population has presented cultural challenges that care givers must navigate to provide culturally competent service. Cultural competence during delivery of care requires sensitivity to the cultural, social, and linguistic needs of patients (Betancourt, Green, Carrillo, 2002). As a consequence, care providers need cultural assessment tools that will enable them

With the inclusion of cultural competency, healthcare practices have seen improvements in interpersonal patient-provider relationships, better retention of patients throughout the full plan of care, and are better able to address specific health issues that predominantly affect minorities (ie. cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease). In the absence of cultural competency, healthcare providers run the risk of patient dissatisfaction and miscommunication that can lead to wrongly stereotyping and generalizing patients, inadequate patient plans of care, and even malpractice claims noting the provider’s negligence in meeting “professional standards of care” (National Center for Cultural Compliance). In (video), a healthcare provider mentions the importance of “treating all individuals with the same respect and dignity”, which is valuable. But what is even more valuable and more forward-thinking is not treating individuals the same, but treating them with the mindset that “yes this person is different, so I need to provide them a unique, individualized treatment plan that respects their cultural values and also gives dignity to the individual’s right upholding their beliefs while improving

The topic I have chosen is, how nurses accommodate and overcome religious and cultural beliefs in different patients that may cause issues or obstacles in their hospitalization and recovery process.  There are many different cultures and religions in the world, and all of them have different views on healing practices.  It is a nurse 's job to do what is best for the patient, however, they also must accommodate the patient 's and their family 's wishes for recovery.  It is interesting to discuss this topic because it will be a common issue that many nurses will have to manage while working in a hospital.  It is enjoyable learning about people 's beliefs and cultures and any nurse would obviously not want to do wrong by them or offend them in any way. A couple of ways a nurse can accommodate a patient and family’s culture are, being an active listener and taking the nurse’s personal time to learn and read up on other cultures that are unfamiliar or different to his/her own. Nurses are responsible for the best possible care for their patients and accommodating their cultural needs will make the patient’s hospital stay a much easier and comfortable one. (Kersey-Matusiak, 2012) Issues that can arise from cultural differences are food disparities, personal space issues which contribute to levels of comfortability, and stereotyping. These situations can make the hospital stay aggravating and uncomfortable for a patient that is of a different culture than the nurse who is

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

After completing the “cultural competence checklist: personal reflection designed by T.D. Goode” for the first time, I was not surprised by my results. The results were a reflection of my personal understanding how culture impacts holistic care and my continuous need to improve my care. I have strived to become non-judgmental. I work to not let my personal beliefs and values influence my nursing care on decisions. When I practice this philosophy it provides better patient outcomes and promotes an improved understanding of cultural differences. This also enhances a safe and caring environment. “It is important for health care providers to recognize that care must be individualized and considerate of the cultural. Racial, and ethnic identity of the patients and their families” (Broome, 2006, p. 486) .There is much diversity in the beliefs and practices of the Indian culture and we should grant these individuals complete freedom to practice their personal cultural variations and the religion they choose.

In order to provide the best service for patients, it is best to have knowledge of their cultural background in order to properly relay information. It will, help you determine what advice would be beneficial to patients, due to their beliefs. It’s also good to know their family history and, their housing situations to know what’s best for patients in regards to treatments and what the patient can afford. Without knowledge of the patient’s cultural background the, worker could risk disrespecting the patients the religion, or introducing them to what their bodies aren’t used to, also going against their cultural beliefs. Knowing the cultural food pyramids will help the caregiver be able to treat the patient according to their belief and so on,