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Understanding Diversity to Optimize Patient Care Essay

Decent Essays
Our perceptions about diversity and multiculturalism are rooted in our cultural experiences. The article mentions an example of Allen who worked with Vietnam war survivors. The survivors were looking for government benefits instead of treatment. The problem with this is that is psychiatric's had not yet invented a diagnosis for PTSD. Allen knew there was a reasonable explination of their behavior. Veteran's were always nice and lgical until the war which made things more challenging. It was the veterans who came up with the the behaviors listed in the DSM. Recently members of the milatary suggested the term PTSR since it was because of the environment instead of themselves. However, the new name keeps veterns from getting the they need.…show more content…
The best way to do this is to learn about groups different from yoursand recognize your limitations and the need to refer clients on occasion. This also helps the way a person discusses issues and problems. We should be aware if the problem resides in the individual or the environment. We should also improve our awareness, knowledge, and skills to work with clients who are culturally different from you. It should be our lifetime task to avoid stereotyping any group or individual while trying to learn as much as possible anout various cultural groups. Also keep in mind that everyone is unique. Worldview is how people view humanity and the world. We should listen to the client and respect their worldview. Diversity is endemic to races and ethnicities. Race, religion, ability, disability will always be important to learn more about our widely diverse populations. We also need to give special attention to how socioeconomic ractors, racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other oppressive forces may influence a client's worldview. We should increase our own awareness, knowledge, and skills to understand our clients point of view. Attend and listen to undersyand and learn the worldview of others as they tell you their stories. Be mindful of the history of the culture bias and impact of discrimination on the client. Over time we will expand our knowledge and skills with
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