Essay on The Law on Transfusion of Blood to Patients

“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

The nursing profession has a long history of assessing and placing patient needs first when giving care. The tenets of nursing practice include meeting those needs using individualized care by collaborating with the patient, family, and health care team members. (American Nurses Association, 2010). The concept of transcultural nursing aligns with these tenets because it calls on nurses to provide patient-centered care by taking into account the patient’s background, beliefs, culture and values. In this paper, I will identify the factors that made it necessary to develop the transcultural nursing theory, describe the meaning of diversity and its relationship to the field of nursing, and explain three ways that I provide culturally sensitive care to my patients.

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

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,

The following scenario explores the legal and ethical decisions involved with a pediatric patient. A six year old boy suffering from Sickle cell anemia is brought to the hospital with a crisis. During a sickle cell anemia crisis, red blood cells are damaged and they are unable to deliver oxygen to the body. The standard treatment is oxygen, hydration, blood replacements and exchange transfusion (Anita, 2006). The pediatric patient was admitted in critical condition and a blood transfusion is necessary. Parents stated they want to save their child and will accept any type of treatment except for blood products.

The term culture is defined as “the thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups” (Potter & Perry, 2013). With the increase of culturally diverse populations in the United States, it is important for nurses to practice cultural competence. Cultural competence is the ability to acquire specific behaviors, skills, attitudes, and policies in a system that permits “effective work in a cross-cultural setting” (OMH, 2013). Being culturally competent is essential because nurses who acknowledges and respects a patient’s health beliefs and practices are more likely to have positive health outcomes (OMH, 2012). Every culture has certain views and attitudes concerning

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 to be culturally competent, they need to assess their individual values and beliefs about health and health care; otherwise, nurses might assume that all cultures share western premises and values. In order to be considerate to an individual, nurses must remember that beliefs and values influence individuals and families health care decisions. Nurses and healthcare providers should stay up to date on the diversity of patient culture, if they plan to be effective (Grand Canyon University. 2011).

Being culturally competent and delivering culturally sensitive care is imperative for anyone in the medical profession. It is important because of the many diversities faced every day in the health care field. However, simply understanding the fact that there are so many health disparities is not enough. In order to reach out and effectively care for patients of different backgrounds and cultures one must understand the importance of cultural competency. In order to be culturally competent, a nurse must have knowledge of the different cultures, and

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.

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.

The premise of Madeleine Leininger ‘s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality is that one must regard his or her patient both holistically and with respect to the patient’s given cultural background. Leininger aims to establish a nurse-patient relationship in which communication and collaboration are culturally congruent. Via such interactions, a nurse can hypothetically deliver individualized, culturally competent care. However, while Leininger’s theory has many benefits and clear applicability in a multicultural society, its execution may fall short due to the predominating social norms and values held by larger society.