Nursing requires a tremendous amount of care both physically and psychosocially. Besides having a well-rounded medical knowledge, it is important for nurses to be aware of religious and cultural practices that are utilized in the world today. There is a multiplicity of different religious backgrounds and gaining knowledge on their differences and important traditions will allow nurses to provide competent care.
In the Jewish faith, death is seen as a natural process, one with many unique traditions that give friends and family the opportunity to spend time with the deceased. When death occurs, and Jewish rituals begin, the body is never left alone, as mourners will focus on showing respect for the dead and consolation for the living. Many communities are known for having a burial society, called the “Chevra Kaddisha,” or “Holy Society,” that’s purpose is to clean, and then wrap the body in a plain linen shroud. Then, a room is chosen and candles will be lit to represent the “shomerim” (meaning “guards”) that will watch over the body, as it is laid on the floor and covered. Because of this, the body cannot be cremated or embalmed, and even autopsies are severely discouraged, as these acts would disrupt the traditional Jewish mourning rituals. Within 24 hours of death, and before sunset if possible, the body is then placed in a casket and buried. Coffins are not required, however, if one is used, it must have holes drilled in the bottom, so the body may still come in contact with the ground. As for the living, Jewish mourners start phases of grief traditions, beginning with the tearing of one’s own clothing (Rich, 1996). Per tradition, mourners “cut their clothing with a razor- on the left for a parent; on the right for a sp...
... middle of paper ...
...ople cope with death. It is necessary for nurses to have empathy, compassion, and kindness when providing care for a dying patient and their family. Having a good knowledge base on important customs and rituals specific to certain religions will give nurses a better understanding of patient backgrounds. This will enable nurses to better help patients through grieving processes and will allow nurses to gain a better understanding of the patient’s family’s expectations post- death. Furthermore, the knowledge nurses gain about various aspects of religion, may help them to be unbiased toward their patients beliefs in relation to their own. This will permit nurses to have a therapeutic relationship with patients and families and will allow nurses to provide quality care. Providing religious support to patients and their families is significant when coping with death.
Puchalski, C. M., Dorff, D. E., Hebbar, B. N., & Hendi, Y. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and end of life care. RELIGION, SPRITUALITY, AND END OF LIFE CARE. Retrieved from http://www.uptodate.com/contents/religion-spirituality-and-end-of-life-care?source=search_result&search=Religion%2C+spirituality%2C+and+end+of+life+care&selectedTitle=1%7E146#
As we in become more evolved as a nation one of the problem that needs to be address is how to response to diverse faith within our healthcare practices. This essay serves to compare these three different religious philosophies: Yoruba, Hinduism (karma) and Buddhism, to a Christian’s perspective. These religions have wide perspectives but one will key in on health management and what to expect from healthcare point of view while caring for these patients.
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 health. The Jewish (also referred to as Jews), in particular, have intriguing health practices and beliefs that health care providers need to be aware of.
“Faith community nursing is community-based and population-focused professional nursing practice with communities of faith to promote whole-person health” (Stanhope, Marcia, & Lancaster, 2012, p. 976). The faith based nurse should be fully aware of the community belief, faith practice, spiritual level within the population, and connect these elements with health and healing. Health, spiritual and healing are considered an important dynamic process in the faith based or religious community. I will discuss the heritage and healing in the faith community. Also, I will discuss some of the benefits of a community nurse forming partnership with the parish nurse and faith based communities. I will explain
Nursing professionals deal with a lot of stress in the course of their duty and this could lead to burnouts, and frustration. They absorb both positive and negative aura constantly when dealing with suffering and dying patients and their families. Due to their close proximity with patients, they stand the risk of getting blamed when situations become unpleasant. However, the most important factor to recall is that nursing is all about compassionate and non-judgmental care.
...uals, even if they don't agree with them. It really falls to nurses to address the situation properly, and effectively ensure that the cultural communication between the doctor and the patient does not break down. Nurses most of all have to communicate with patients in a healing way, even if they do not agree with mystical remedies because the nurse has to recognize that there is nonetheless a function that mystical ritual remedies do serve, even to western medicine: to comfort the patients and their families. Ancient rituals or customs, retained to some extent or respected by western caregivers, can serve to maintain a healing and positive attitude, and as a psycholgocial support which the nurse can provide through respect and symbolic use of non-western cultural myths as a psychological stimulant to assist the healing process and inspire the patient thereof.
Transcultural nursing requires us to care for our patients by providing culturally sensitive care over a broad spectrum of patients. The purpose of this post is to describe cultural baggage, ethnocentrism, cultural imposition, prejudice, discrimination, and cultural congruence. I will also give an example of each term to help you understand the terminology related to nursing care. I will definite cultural self-assessment and explain why it is valuable for nurses to understand what their own self-assessment means. Finally, I will describe the five steps to delivering culturally congruent nursing care and how I have applied these concepts in my nursing practice.
After the death of a person the eyes are closed, so the person can finally rest in peace. Some Jews place the body of the deceased on the floor immediately after death. This is done to cool the body to slow the deterioration of the body and also fulfill the biblical prognostication "for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return"(Genesis 3:19). A candle is then lit and placed near the corpse head to show respect to the soul that departed. In the past twenty-six candles were light around the body; twenty-six is the Jewish numerical number meaning "God." Today this is done only to show respect to the dead. Jewish people treat a close family members death similar to Americans. Relatives and friends of the deceased feel great distress, sorrow, and pain.
When death occurs, the body is prepared for viewing. People of the same gender prepare the body by laying their “hands across the chest, closing the eyelids, anointing the body with oil, and placing flower garlands around it.” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, pg. 384). According to Leming and Dickinson, Hindus believe that cremation is “an act of sacrifice” because they are offering their body to God. The body is usually cremated on the bank of a sacred river. The book, Understanding dying, death, and bereavement offers an “invocation” that would be close to what a priest would recite, “Fire, you were lighted by him, so may he be lighted from you, that he may gain the regions of celestial bliss. May this offering prove auspicious.” Leming and Dickinson (2011) state that between 10-31 days post cremation, a feast (shraddha) is shared among mourners and priests. Shraddhas can last hours to days, depending on the wealth of the family. Once this shraddha is over, the mourning period comes to a close. It is said that the funeral is the second most important ritual, following a wedding, and that many families spend all the money they have on them, leading to impoverishment (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, p.
In the Jewish faith, death is seen as a natural process. Jewish rituals surrounding death focus on showing respect for the deceased and consolation for the living. After death, the body is never left alone. The body is laid on the floor, covered, and candles are lit with the “shomerim” meaning “guards” watching over the body. Many Jewish communities have a burial society, called the chevra kaddisha (holy society), that clean the body and wrap the body in a plain linen shroud. The body can not be cremated or embalmed and autopsies are discouraged. Coffins are not required according to Jewish customs, but if one is used, there must be holes drilled into them, so they come in contact with the ground. The dead are placed in a plain casket and buried within 24 hours, before sunset, on the day of death. Jewish mourning traditions begin grief with the tearing of one’s clothing (Rich, 1996). Mourners “cut their clothing with a razor- on the left for a parent; on the right for a spouse, child, or sibling- to symbolize the tear in life that death has produced (cite textbook, pg 358).” After burial of the deceased, a healing meal is made for the family, which is followed by the next phase of mourning, known as shiva. Shiva is a seven day ritual in where mourners sit on low stools or on the floor, do not wear shoes, do not shave, do not work, do not bathe, have sex, or eat meat, and remain in the same clothes they tore at the time of death. Following shiva, mourners do not attend social gathering for 30 days, this is known as shloshim. If someone is mourning a parents death, the “shloshim” is expanded to one year (Rich, 1996).
There are cultures that have very different views on things such as family dynamics and health care than what I’m used to. For example, there are some cultures that do not believe in seeking healthcare when they are ill or receiving medications or blood if needed. However, my family always believed in taking us to the doctor and taking medications when we were ill. There are also some cultures that have very large families that they are very close to however I always had a small close-knit family. I am able to see how these different scenarios could affect the nursing care provided by assuming that other people and families have the same beliefs that my family had growing up. However, this is why it is important to ask questions and do research about a particular culture before making assumptions. I also believe it is very important to avoid assuming that all cultures are the same just because they are of a certain culture or ethnicity. Beliefs and rituals can differ amongst people of the same community. Therefore, it is essential to get to know your patients and have an understanding of their beliefs as an
In healthcare organizations, medical staff must conform to their hospital and their country’s code of conduct. Not only do they have to meet set standards, they must also take their patient into consideration. When making a decision upon a patient, medical staff must recognize religious backgrounds and spiritual beliefs. By understanding a patients’ beliefs and their belief system, a medical worker can give the patient their deserved medical assistance without overstepping boundaries or coming off as offensive. The practices and beliefs of four religions will be articulated throughout this essay to fully understand how religion can either help or hinder the healing process.
Religion is a significant aspect of culture that must be understood and respected. Through understanding the differences in peoples cultures, a nurse who is tending to a patient who’s beliefs differ from his or her own can appropriately adjust care to respect the patient’s beliefs and
This assignment will look at the impact of culture in professional practice and how it will affect patients and their needs in nursing. ‘Culture’ refers to the ways in which people in a given society live together and how they communicate with each other (Hendry,2008). The aspects of culture this assignment will look at are religion, language and gender and how nurses develop cultural competency and cultural sensitivity towards their patients.
Rex Smith, A. (2009). Nursing and spirituality: What happened to religion. Journal of Christian Nursing, 26(4), 216-222. doi:10.1097/01.CNJ0000361243.35944.69