Cultural Competency is essential in a country, especially like the United States of America where diversity is the new majority. Yes, I agree that it is important for an individual to learn the language (English) when immigrating to a new country (America). However, it does not mean that it is simply justifiable to neglect all those people that are not proficient in English. In a healthcare setting, it is perhaps more critical to be culturally competent. Medical practice, in my belief, is more effective with a combination of both technical and soft skills. It is not like a machine or a computer where it shoots out an error code when broken. According to our textbook, health care providers in the US spend numerous years studying the technical; yet, little of that time is focused on skills to effectively communicate such valuable information. (Food and Nutrition) …show more content…
Yes, a doctor’s technical knowledge of correctly utilizing the x-ray machine, stethoscope, prescription, etc., is important but correctly relaying that information and instructions are just as important or if not more so. For example, if a patient is diagnosed with high-blood pressure, does the medical doctor instantly cure or treat the patient by running the patient through bunch of technical tests and procedures? No, it is the patient’s duty to continually take the prescribed medication and/or follow additional instructions the doctor gave. In order to effectively diagnose and treat the patient, the doctor has to understand fundamentals differences that the patient might have and provide instructions that the patient can follow without obstruction of his or her cultural
Cultural competency is a very significant necessity in health care today and the lack of it in leadership and in the health workforce, is quite pressing. The lack of cultural competency can bring about dire consequences such as racial and ethnic disparities in health care. It may not be the sole reason for these disparities, but it certainly places a significant role. A patient and health care provider relationship is very significant and can make or break the quality of care that is given. The lack of cultural competency leads to poor communication which then leads to those of diverse backgrounds to feel either unheard or just plain misunderstood. As an East African
I choose Chapter 4 Cultural Competence for the class discussion, and I addressed the following two points from the chapter. The first one was about Your Ethical Responsibility while working in the Human Service profession and the second was about Important Points to be Remember in Cross -Culture Interactions.
Working as a research nurse at the Ohio State University, I often encounter patients that
Goode, T. D., Dunne, M. C., & Bronheim, S. M. (2006). The evidence base for cultural and linguisitc competence in healthcare. The Commonweatlh Fund , 1-46.
Kodjo, C. (2009, February,2009). Cultural competence in clinician communication [Pediatr Rev]. Pub Med Central, 30(2), 57-64. doi:10.1542/pir.30-2-57
The purpose of the assessment is to address the competence of different cultures. As a number of Haitian immigrants in to the United States, it continues to grow at a steady rate (DeSilva, Gonzales-Eastep, Grey, & Nicolas, 2006). It is very important that mental health providers become better informed, and develop the skill sets necessary to combine the providers’ and clients’ cultural backgrounds into the treatment (DeSilva, Gonzales-Eastep, Grey & Nicolas, 2006). I will be conducting an assessment on, Mrs. Hudson an Haitian American woman who was referred by her primary care doctor, because of symptoms that; she is experiencing when she leaves her home. This is Mrs. Hudson’s first time to a mental health counselor.
Cultural Competence is important for many reasons. First, it can help develop culturally sensitive practices which can in turn help reduce barriers that affect treatment in health care settings. Second, it can help build understanding, which is critical in competence, in order wards knowing whom the person recognizes as a health care professional and whom they views as traditional healer, can aid the development of trust and improve the individual’s investment and participation in treatment. Third, our population in the United States is not only growing quickly but also changing, cultural competence will allow us as educators and healthcare workers keep up wi...
According to (Hinkle & Cheever, 2014, p. 97) Culturally competent care is defines “as effective, individualized care that demonstrates respect for the dignity, personal rights, preferences, beliefs, and practices of the person receiving care while acknowledging the biases of the caregiver and preventing these biases from interfering with the care provided”.
Cultural competence in health care provision refers to the capacity of health care systems to offer good care to patients and accommodate employees, who have diverse beliefs, behaviors, and values to meet their cultural, linguistic, and social needs. It comprises of policies, attitudes, and behaviors that integrate to form a system that can operate efficiently in cross cultural conditions. Healthcare organizations look at cultural competence from two major viewpoints. Firstly, it is a tool to enhance patient care from all backgrounds, social groups, languages, religions, and beliefs. Secondly, it is a tool that strategically attracts potential clients to their organizations and, hence, expands
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
Although health care questionnaires come in different languages, it can still be misinterpreted by the patient or their family. Without a way to communicate, the doctor can’t effectively treat the patient. One good example of this is the case from the book “The Spirit Catches you and you fall down”. In the book a Hmong family of refugees comes to the US and one of their daughters has epilepsy. They take her to the emergency room but are unable to communicate with the staff because they don’t understand or read English. When the doctors prescribe the little girl medication, the mother doesn’t understand how to administer it properly according to Western standards, so the child is taken by Child Protective Services. The family is given multiple chances, even being given a translator/counselor to make sure the child is getting the correct dosage. If there had been better communication, maybe the doctors could have adapted the treatment to the Hmong culture a little more so the mother could have had a chance to administer the medication correctly. In the article “Language: A Crucial Part of Cultural Competency” Jim McCaffree interviewed Laura McNally. Laura McNally works in the health care field so she knows firsthand the barriers of culture and language. McCaffree cites that “McNally says, though, “I’ve worked through interpreters, and it’s very difficult to work through an interpreter because it’s based on the interpreter’s understanding of what you’re telling them.” She adds that “in order for us to provide the care we need to provide, whether it’s in the hospital, in a community-based clinic, or out in the community, we have to be able to speak some of those languages.” (McCaffree
In the perspective of cultural safety, culture is broadly defined to include ethnicity, customs, tradition, beliefs and values as well as socioeconomic status, age, gender, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual beliefs, ethnic/immigration status, values and disabilities (NCNZ, 2011). Culture is about ways of doing things and it can be learned and changed (Jarvis, 2012). Ethnicity on the other hand a is a form of identification or belonging to a social group bonded by common history and cultural tradition hence, people of the same ethnicity may share a common language, religion, food, dress, and have a common sense of identity. (Brown & Edwards, 2012). New Zealand (NZ) is a multi-cultural society composed of peoples from various ethnicities. NZ population is composed of 74% European; 15% Maori; 12% Asian, 7% Pacific peoples, and 1% Middle Eastern / Latin American / African. Aside from the English language (96%), the other common languages used in NZ are te reo Maori (3.7%), Samoan (2.2%), Hindi (1.7%), Chinese (1.3%) and French (1.2%). Almost 42% of New Zealanders does not have religion and the largest Christian denominations are the Catholics, Anglicans and Presbyterians (SNZ, 2014). This means that nurses in New Zealand are now interacting with different types of people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Cultural competency can be described as the ability to affectively respond to the needs of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. There are various reasons for nurses to be cultural
Miller, Leininger, Leuning, Pacquiao, Andrews, and Ludwig-Beyer, (2008) support that the skill of cultural competency in nursing is the ability to gather relevant cultural data on the presenting problem of the patient. This cultural assessment is defined as a "...
Characteristics can be as diverse as ethnic background, language spoken, gender status, physical appearance, race, and religion to name a few. Migration from various countries is creating a diverse population with different cultures and languages within the United States. Due to these cultural differences and lack of knowledge, disparities are increasing. Studies have shown that both language barriers and lack of cultural customs can hinder the services provided to the patient by the healthcare worker (Renzaho, Romios, Crock, & Sonderlund, 2013). This study provided a positive outcome when communication and cultural mutual understanding took place and patients had a more positive health outcome. It is very important that nurses are diversified in various cultures in order to better care for our patients. According to Mareno and Hart (2014), cultural competency has become one of the core values being taught in nursing programs. Their study showed that the perceived level of cultural awareness and skills among the nurses provided was low. Awareness and knowledge levels increased with higher education. It was highly recommended that self-awareness exercises be incorporated into the nursing course and continued to be addressed during the remaining curriculum until