USF Value Of Diversity Paper

“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 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,

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).

We live in a very diverse nation and overcoming challenges related to cultural beliefs and preferences is a very common obstacle for health care workers today. In an article in The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing cultural diversity is defined as being more than just race,

As an Advanced Practice Nurse, one must fulfill many roles, have a duty and responsibility to meet the needs of the patients. Needs that are not just sicknesses or are that can just be seen with our eyes but can be unseen and unspoken needs such as emotional and cultural needs. It should be remembered that everyone is an individual and has a unique background, history and culture. Understanding cultural can improve healthcare quality and the patient’s healthcare experience. An Advanced Practice Nurse needs to know and understand that cultures are continually growing and evolving (Spector, 2017). It takes time to learn culture competence and develop the skills. Cultural competence is a never-ending life-time progression with the commitment to learning to become culturally

As a result, we can considered that applying culture competence in nursing is a supporting for nurses. In other words, applying culture competence in nursing helps nurses in their work by asking them to care about every patient individually. It means by individually is focusing on the patient’s needs. In addition to that to see him holistically, from all aspects, psychological, physical and mental. Also, according to The online Journal of Issues in Nursing, “Cultural skill is the ability to collect relevant cultural data regarding the patient's presenting problem” which shows that it is very important for nurses to have knowledge about different cultures to be able to do assessment for any patient who has different culture. In addition to that the initial assessment is depending on examination for cultural beliefs, values, customs and traditions. The purpose of cultural assessment is to obtain accurate information about the patient to assist the nurse in putting care plan to be accepted by the patient and the nurse. Briefly, the

In order for nurses to provide equal and effective healthcare, they must be culturally competent. Nursing requires constant learning, and understanding a person’s culture can give insight to what is causing a problem, what is hindering healing or procedures, and the best way to treat each patient.

Its application involves going across cultural boundaries in an effort to effect nursing and make its practice meaningful. It thus emphasizes on the practitioners acquisition of cultural competence for effective and meaningful nursing assessment. The theory identifies three major areas that are to be used as lenses through which cultural assessments can be viewed and understood. These include worldview, environmental context and social structural factors (Ryan, 2011). The three areas are informed and influenced by cultural values, beliefs and practices; religious, philosophical or spiritual beliefs; economic factors; educational beliefs; technology; kinship and social ties as well as political and legal factors (Leininger, 2002; Sagar, 2012). For a holistic understanding of the client/patient for effective care, the nurse needs to understand the various dimensions to these three areas and how they manifest themselves in the client/patient. For its functionality, the theory is founded on three key assumptions: that care is the center piece and unifying factor of

Culture is very important to the role of a nurse. Today, nurses operate in a cultural diverse environment. The current health care setting incorporates both patients and professionals with a diverse cultural background and social level. Health in all cultures is an important aspect of life. Cultural background, religion or beliefs, greatly influences a person’s health and their response to medical care. In most cases these diverse cultures guide decisions made in daily life; medications taken and medical advice listened to. As a nurse, I will demonstrate this characteristic by being knowledgeable and respectful of the diverse cultures and subcultures when providing care. The understanding will help me to build a strong nurse to patient relationship, uphold autonomy and ensures positive outcomes are met, which increase patient compliance (ANA, 2009). Therefore, as a professional nurse I will pay attention and understand the cultural needs of the patients under my care. I will pay attention to cultural and individual peculiarities of each patient in order to provide them with health care services of the high quality.

Providing culturally competent nursing care begins with having basic principle knowledge and effective training us a nursing student. Madeleine Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality defines nursing as a learned scientific and humanistic profession that focuses on patient care, experiences and creative thinking relevant to nursing and health care system. As nurse student in today’s society you will come in contact with a lot of cultural differences, but having basic knowledge of cultural diversity will be an advantage, and it’s significant for a nurse to understand the interaction of these cultural systems which enables nurses to become more effective in doing nursing assessment and serving as client advocates. The focus of the theory is toward developing new practices for nursing to meet diverse cultural needs and to provide culturally congruent nursing care. The research will discuss and provide brief examples as a reference evidences of the theory which focuses on obtaining in-depth knowledge of care and culture diversity.

Health care professionals need to be culturally aware and competent in order to give the best care possible. The American Association of College of Nursing defines cultural competencies as “the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for providing quality care to diverse populations” (California Endowment, 2003). In order for nurses to have the capability to provide this type of care, they must have the understanding of their own personal cultural awareness and capability. After performing a self-assessment and analysis, I was able to determine my own knowledge, attitude and biases related to cultural awareness and competency in order to provide culturally competent nursing care to patients. Personal biases must be put aside while attaining cultural competence.

Providing culturally-competent care requires understanding all the aspects of culture. A holistic approach to health care must be used to go beyond the just the physical care of a client. A nurse must seek to increase knowledge, change attitudes, and improve clinical skills. A client’s culture is significant and reflects their life experiences. Cultural-competent care respects these experiences as well as a client’s beliefs, practices, and cultural needs. An example of culturally-competent care in the maternal-newborn setting would be a nurse, unable to speak a client’s native language, providing care to that client who is experiencing the anxiety of childbirth. According to Callister (2001), by speaking softly and carefully touching the client, the nurse could convey a sense of caring despite a linguistic barrier (p. 212).

This paper will be discussing the importance of understanding Cultural diversity in nursing. It will be focusing on understanding the knowledge of cultural diversity and why it’s important. I will also discuss the different attitude that nurses are expose to from different culture. As reference I will be using the “Journal continuing Education in Nursing”; (L. Price, July 1994). According to L. Price cultural diversity challenges health care providers to facilitate bridging cross-cultural gaps with clients. He believes that it is through culturally relevant care that nurses can serve the needs of all clients in our diverse society. Mr. Price also stated that nurses can use the following steps to have a better connection with patients that have a different background from them. The four steps include the following; (1) health care providers should assess their own cultural beliefs and be aware of general ethnic, regional, and religious beliefs and practices in their area; (2) develop a teaching plan; (3) implement the plan. Those are the three topics that I will be discussing in the following pages.

Cultural competence is the art of respecting the varying cultures of one's patients and adapting to the unique needs and considerations that accompany each individual. In order to be culturally competent, the nurse must first identify his or her own cultural identity, beliefs, and biases. This self-awareness is critical so that the nurse can prevent inappropriately projecting his or her own personal beliefs onto patients. Following self-exploration, it is a necessity to accept that patients will most likely not have the same culture or beliefs as the nurse. Everyone is unique and that should not affect the quality of care that they receive. A large component of cultural competence is not making assumptions, judgments, or using generalizations about a person based on their culture. It is equally important to take communication into consideration when dealing

As nurses, we operate in culturally diverse environments and interact with a variety of differing cultures. Multiculturalism is steadily increasing and cultural caring is imperative to provide holistic care to all clients. Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviours, attitudes, and policies that enable effective respect, caring and communication in cross-cultural situations (Parker, 2010). Cultural competency is essential because nurses who respect and acknowledge a patient’s cultural health beliefs and practices are more likely to influence the health of individuals. Culturally competent nurses need to respect and accept differences in beliefs, lifestyle, and values in order to establish a trusting, therapeutic relationship with the individuals they are working with (Parker, 2010).