As a future member of the healthcare field, it is very important that I can work with and advocate for individuals from all different backgrounds and cultures. It is also important that myself and other healthcare workers can respect and efficiently treat individuals regardless of their personal beliefs or thoughts. We get to work one on one with patients and get to know them on a personal level. We should be able to treat patients with respect and compassion regardless of their background. After taking the cultural competence class, I have learned respect, communication, knowledge, and adaption are all important components of being culturally competent. As I will soon graduate, I hope to embody these aspects in my interactions with all individuals …show more content…
Using the 2010 census depicting the population by race, there are almost five million white individuals, slightly more than one million African Americans, 91,242 Asian Americans, 19,991 American Indians, 3,642 Hawaiian Pacific Islander, and 251, 964 individuals of a different race or mixed race that make up the population in Tennessee.4 In regard to ethnicity reported, 290,059 individuals identify as Hispanic or Latino, while 6,056,046 identify differently.4 These statistics are just for my home state of Tennessee and they speak to the diverse population in America today. As of 2012, around 21% of Americans were speaking a language other than English, and as high as 44.3% of the population in California was speaking a different language.5 Likewise, the population continues to grow by 9.7% from 2000-2010.4 This growth is attributed to births along with immigration to the United States. It has been thought a new immigrant arrives in the United States every 46 seconds.6 America is known as the “melting pot” thus we are a very diverse nation and our healthcare should reflect that. Similarly, to be culturally competent, we must recognize people deserve respect as unique individuals and within their specific …show more content…
Healthy People 2020 along with other sources utilized previously detail how minorities are more likely to be uninsured thus leading to inadequate health care.10 This lack of care leads to uninsured patients having a poor health status, less likely to seek care, and more likely to die prematurely.10 According to the data, females of white race with an advanced degree and high income are more likely to receive the most favorable health care as opposed to low income, American Indian males who did not complete high school which demonstrate the least favorable rate for adequate health care.10 Moreover, statistically significant disparities have been found between sex, race or ethnicity, income, location, and education have been found in regards to adequate health care for individuals with insurance, without insurance, patients seeking ongoing care, availability to medical prescriptions, dental care, medical care, and between patients with a primary care physician.10 This data alone suggests the importance of health care becoming more culturally competent as a whole along with putting policies in place to help correct these disparities. Throughout this course, we have also learned there are differences in prenatal care, healthcare by geographic region, and
Douglas, Rosenkoetter, Pacquiao, Callister, Hattar-Pollara, Lauderdale, Milstead, Nardi, & Purnell (2014) outline ten guidelines for implementing culturally competent care; knowledge of cultures, education and training in culturally competent care, critical reflection, cross-cultural communication, culturally competent practice, cultural competence in health care systems and organizations, patient advocacy and empowerment, multicultural workforce, cross-cultural leadership, and evidence-based practice and research. One specific suggestion I will incorporate is to engage in critical reflection. This is mentioned both by Douglas, et al. (2014) and Trentham, et al. (2007) as an important part of cultural competency. I will do this by looking at my own culture, beliefs, and values and examining how they affect my actions. I will use this information to better inform my day to day practice when working with patients with a different culture than my
Cobb, Torry Grantham, DHSc, MPH,M.H.S., P.A.-C. (2010). STRATEGIES FOR PROVIDING CULTURAL COMPETENT HEALTH CARE FOR HMONG AMERICANS. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 17(3), 79-83. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/750318474?accountid=158556
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
This essay will focus on outlining the fundamental principles of cultural diversity and how effective nursing interventions are used when providing an adequate amount of care for an individual from a culturally diverse background and how this may collide with the nursing therapeutic engagement. This essay will give the reader an insight upon culture whilst giving a significant explanation of cultural differences within a health setting. The patient’s real name will not be used and will be referred to as Mr. X. This is in line with the Nursing and midwifery Council 2008 (NMC, 2008) requirements to maintain confidentiality at all times.
Therefore, considering these issues is an impediment when discussing the disparities in health. Some minorities are disadvantaged in the current healthcare while some are not. However, it is complicated to identify reasons for inequalities because health outcome is a result of numerous interactions with factors including the individual’s access to care, the quality of care provided, health behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, the presence or absence of complicating conditions, and personal attitudes toward health and medicine. Therefore, Examining existing racial and ethnic issues, developing potential solutions for current disparities, and preparing for future challenges as shifts in trends emerge are essential aspects of health care improvements” (Boslaugh,
Going to a different country or area of the world can open up anybody’s eyes to see that culture makes a huge impact on the understanding and practices of healthcare that seem to be so common to other areas of the world. When a person lives in one country their whole life, that person may not realize how different the life they live is from someone in a foreign country. If a person is going to receive treatment from someone with a different cultural background, they should be expected to get treatment to respects their own culture. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences having such a diverse variety of students has their own cultural competency definition that states “effectively and comfortably communicate across cultures with patients of differing backgrounds, taking into account aspects of trust in order to adopt mutually acceptable objectives and measures”. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler, the issue of culture and healthcare are greatly prevalent. Katherine Dettwyler herself goes to West Africa as an anthropologist and her horizons are broadened when during her research she comes in contact with how much culture has an impact on healthcare and everyday life.
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...
research on healthcare practices in a culturally diverse setting has established the importance of cultural awareness, competence, and diversity for healthcare workers.
Diversity is one thing, I have come to accept and appreciate greatly in my life. I am 22 years old and was born in Ghana, West Africa. To me, I see myself as an African woman. Reasoning being that both my parents are Africans but from different tribes. I was brought up through the general Ghanaian way, but having my parents from different ethnic groups taught me how to adapt to different cultures and I believe that was where my experience with diversity began. The African continent do have some similarities in the cultures, but being brought up with the Ghanaian culture and norms has really helped me and shaped me to be the respectful and humbled woman I am today. Being a Christian born into the Presbyterian denomination, I do my very best
Providing culturally competent care is a vital responsibility of a nurse’s role in healthcare. “Culturally competent care means conveying acceptance of the patient’s health beliefs while sharing information, encouraging self-efficiency, and strengthening the patients coping resources” (Giddens, 2013). Competence is achieved through and ongoing process of understanding another culture and learning to accept and respect the differences.
Given the magnitude of health costs, both financial and in terms of human suffering, it is essential that preventive interventions be developed and/or enhanced. Nurses, physicians, and other helping professionals are in a good position, by virtue of their training, to add to such preventive efforts. Health is defined as a condition of physical, mental, and social well being and the absence of disease or other abnormal condition. It is not a static condition; constant change and adaptation to stress result in homeostasis (Mosby's Medical and Nursing Dictionary, 1994 p. 742). The fact that we can improve our health and extend our lives by changing our behaviors (i.e., eating well, exercising, not smoking, and reducing stress) supports the incorporation of health education, and prevention programs into a broad variety of settings.
Cultural competence as defined by the American Medical Association acknowledges the responsibility of healthcare providers to understand and appreciate differences that exist in other cultures (as cited by McCorry & Mason, 2011). Moreover, it is the healthcare provider’s responsibility to not only become knowledgeable of other cultural differences, but to assess and adapt their skills to meet the needs of those patients (McCorry & Mason, 2011). Culturally competent healthcare providers recognize and incorporate cultural diversity, awareness, and sensitivity into the total care of a patient (Matzo & Sherman, 2015). Mr. L. is a Chinese-American man and it appears his culture is influencing his end of life (EOL) experience. It is essential
Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and patient which in turn improves healing and health.
Seeking to position lower socioeconomic status above racial/ethnic biases or vice versa is irresponsible to the goal of eliminating healthcare delivery differences at large. Both these are realities of a group of people who are not receiving the same level of care from the healthcare professionals although they exist within one of the most resource rich countries in the world, the United States. According to House & Williams (2000), “racism restricts and truncates socioeconomic attainment” (page, 106). This alone will hinder good health and spur on disparities as racism reduces the level of education and income as well as the prospect of better jobs. Blacksher (2008) cites the nation’s institutionalized racism as one of the leading factors
The principle of market justice proposes that market forces in a free economy can best achieve a fair distribution of health care. Within such a system, medical care and its benefits are distributed on a basis of people’s willingness to pay. (Shi & Singh) In other words, consumers are allowed the choice of purchasing items that are of value to them. These valued goods and/or services are purchased with the consumer’s personal funds.