The values and beliefs of different cultures in the healthcare setting are fundamental in providing adequate patient care. Knowing the specifics of your patient’s culture is necessary when completing the nursing process. It is important for the healthcare provider to understand the Indian culture, how they communicate, their spiritual beliefs, specific nutritional preferences, and health risks they face. Traditionally in the Indian culture when saying hello they place their hands in the praying position while saying Namaste which means hello in their culture. Dependent upon the relationship with one another, is reflective towards the type of communication used through body language. Although similar movements and gestures are shared within our cultures there is more passion and exaggeration expressed between those who are Indian, but are detached and communicate in an opposite manner to those who are Non-Indian. Once a line of trust and mutual respect has been established, the tradition in their culture is to demonstrate gracious hospitality, but can become easily offended if their offerings are refused (Yechoor, 2012). What may not be offensive in the other cultures can be very offensive in their culture. Pointing your finger at someone may seem like a small gesture with no meaning behind it; to them however it is considered to be disrespectful. In relation to nursing and culture competency a simple head to toe assessment in the western culture is considered a standard
“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
In this paper I will be identifying beliefs and values common to my family of origin. I will be using Purnell's Model of cultural competency and will explain the major assumptions of the model in relevance to my culture. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a quick overview of the Asian Indian culture. One must be aware of their own culture and the culture of others in order to offer competent and culturally sensitive care and understand how their cultural beliefs may affect their health. (Leuning, Swiggum, Wiegert, and McCullough-Zander, 2002).
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 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
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 &
When culturally competent nurses interact with other cultures, they observe how members of the culture communicate, watching for verbal and non-verbal cues. Eye contact is important to identify. For some cultures direct eye contact is not polite. Touch for some cultures is prohibited. If needed, nurses should explain the reason for touching the patient before proceeding. In some cultures males cannot be caregivers of females. Silence doesn’t always mean miscommunication or patient apathy. For some cultures is a positive non-verbal cue or a sign of respect or agreement. Space and distance is very important when providing care. Patients can place themselves close or far from the nurse based on their culture. Healthcare beliefs also vary from cultures. Some cultures are compliant with cares while others may not be very cooperative. Based on these observations, nurses can plan their plan of care based on the patient’s needs (Maier-Lorentz, 2008 Journal Of Cultural Diversity). Nurses also need to observe pain non-verbal cues, food preferences, family arrangements and general norms and interactions.
Cultural aspects of holistic assessment is relevant in the provision of nursing care as it provides the care team with an overview of cultural needs of the patient as well as providing information in which the patients’ health problems have arisen. Culture is defined as values, beliefs, artifacts, behaviors, attitudes and customs influencing and regulating interactions between members of a social group (Stein-Parbury 2010: 91; Johnstone 2006: 67). It is the nurses responsibility to adhere to the ANMC, competency 2.3, ‘accepts individuals/groups to whom care is provided regardless of race, culture, religion, age, gender, sexual preference, physical or mental state’ (ANMC 2006, p. 4). Kozier & Erb (2012: 360) discuss that cultural sensitivity, appropriateness, competency and safety are all factors that are required to be taken into consideration so that the patient can be provided with the best possible health care. Kozier & Erb (2012: 360) also explain that conflicts in health care have been apparent due to cultural misunderstandings. An example of a cultural misunderstanding is the level of pain. In some cultures, it is normal to dramatically express ones level of pain whereas in other cultures people do
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).
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.
Health is defined a state of wellbeing which is equally viewed by many different cultures. However, the definition of wellbeing is seen differently among cultures, in relationship to their beliefs and values. (DeNisco & Barker, 2015). Cultural care in nursing is a very important part of nursing care, whether the nurse is a bedside RN or a practicing primary care NP. There are many theories in nursing related to cultural care. Most encompass the need for nurses to take into consideration the cultural caring behaviors and values of individuals and families to provide culturally competent nursing care.
The Sunrise Enabler framework was developed by Madeleine M. Leininger, who was a pioneer in transcultural nursing. Leiningers’s framework encompasses the many domains that relate to an individual’s culture. Ultimately, the goal of this model is to serve as a guide in providing patients with care that is culturally congruent. The nurse or healthcare provider can accomplish this by assessing the different domains that relate to the model. This paper will focus on the domain of religion and spirituality within the Hindu religion. Since Hinduism is a very old religion, practices may vary among the different regions of India. The Sunrise Enabler model will serve as a framework to guide this cultural assessment.
According to Murphy (2011), cultural competence is having the “knowledge, attitudes, and skills that support caring for people across different languages and cultures” (p.5). It is important to be cultural competent when providing nursing care for patients because you never know who will be laying in the bed. As a nurse, you will have to care for people from all walks of life no matter where you work. In this paper, I will be discussing the similarities and difference between the cultures in Mexico and Nigeria. Mexico is located in North America, just south of the United States. Nigeria is located in West Africa.
India is a high setting society, there is much dependence on nonverbal motions. In India, individuals welcome each other utilizing the word Namaste and they set up their palms together before their mid-section and give a slight bow of the head. This easygoing or formal welcome is a custom in all of India. Used to start and end with, Namaste actually signifies "I bow to you"- my welcome or greetings. Men will shake hands, yet not with ladies. Ladies ought to never start the handshake. Like other Asian societies, Indians require the evacuation of footwear before entering a sacrosanct range. The general population of India have diverse motions. As per Charlene Wu on Cultural Gestures, Indians will "get a handle on their ear cartilage to express