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Diversity in the health care setting
Diversity in the health care setting
Diversity in the health care setting
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As a resident assistant at Miami University during my undergraduate studies, cultural competency was not only an expected quality of the resident assistant, but it was one of our educational goals as a department. My job was to advise, discuss, and ensure that each individual received the best education possible and felt wanted and safe in our respective communities within our residence halls. I’ve dealt with many students struggling with racial, economic, and cultural differences either with their roommate, a peer, or themselves. I’ve encountered many residents of minority backgrounds within my communities that have maybe felt dissuaded in their academic and social endeavors because of our fairly homogenous community at Miami University. However, it was my job to ensure that all residents within my community felt that their experiences were valid, and to help others and myself appreciate the priceless individual diversity of each resident. …show more content…
One maxim that I believe is that our experiences, upbringing, and education shape the way we experience the world, this experience, being unique to each individual, is what truly makes our communities diverse.
Being a resident assistant has taught me that when confronted with an issue in which you’re unsure or unfamiliar with the societal issues the person faces, study and learn from the person so that you may become more culturally competent yourself. I have always encouraged my residents to take note of each other’s experiences, because I consider experiences to be an invaluable part of individual diversity. I feel that the diversity of different backgrounds I have experienced as a resident assistant will be beneficial in understanding the individual experiences of patients that I will encounter in the health care
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..., p.261) With this knowledge of the culture that one works in, the health care worker can better see the differences with the cultures of the patients that they are taking care of. Hopefully this understanding will lead to less conflict and better healing.
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
McClimens, A., Brewster, J., & Lewis, R. (2014). Recognising and respecting patients ' cultural diversity. Nursing Standard (2014+), 28(28), 45.
The main idea behind this discussion board is to plan care for patient with diverse background different from mine, describe components of conducting a comprehensive cultural assessment on Latino Americans, reflection of my own culture and how it impacts my attitude toward providing culturally diverse care, and creating of two nursing diagnosis that reflect cultural
“An array of knowledges, skills, abilities and contacts possessed and used by Communities of Color to survive and resist racism and other forms of oppression” encompasses the main idea of Community Cultural Wealth. It is vital to understand that students will step foot into the classroom with a variety of cultures zipped up in their backpacks, and it is our job as educators to make sure that equality is instilled/taught in our classrooms. The second a student feels a sense of discrimination, whether from ourselves or their fellow classmate(s), is when the safe and comforting environment of the classroom begins to diminish. Here I will discuss just how important it is to see the differences amongst students as an advantage
...ice to understand student outcomes linked to cultural centers. Some of the methodology and standards used for diversity and inclusion in the book are unclear and it seems more qualitative and quantitative research is needed to fully comprehend the role of cultural resource centers at higher education institutions. Multicultural resource centers must possess extensive assessment and empirical support to improve the services and resources they provide for students of color. The author’s beliefs seemed primarily based on their own interactions and professional experiences with cultural centers, which should be more explicitly stated within the chapters to avoid labeling all culture centers. Overall, Patton and the contributing authors are successful in conveying the importance, role, and purpose of multicultural and race-specific culture centers on college campuses.
Cultural competence has a variety of definitions and, in health care, basically refers to the act of developing an awareness of yourself, your existence, your thoughts, and your environment and making sure that those elements do not unjustly affect the clients you serve (Giger, 2013). In this paper, I will share my total score and what I learned about myself after taking the Cultural Diversity Self Assessment (IllinoisCTE, n.d.), discuss two weaknesses or areas with lower scores, and review two strengths with higher scores. I will reflect on my findings and examine the impact that my strengths and weaknesses may have on my nursing care. In addition, I will discuss improving cultural competence and two strategies
Over the last several weeks we have learned that we live in a culturally diverse world. We have learned that it is important to acknowledge our own cultural values and beliefs while also realizing that others around us have their own beliefs. In order to provide culturally sensitive care, we must also realize the meaning of diversity and how it can also relate to the health care workforce. The purpose of this post is to define what diversity means to me. I will describe what some of the benefits of having a diverse health care workforce is while acknowledging that this could also provide some barriers in the nursing profession. I will conclude by considering my own diverse cultural background and experiences and how it might relate to the
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.
Transcultural nursing requires us to care for our patients by providing culturally sensitive care to 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 define 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 to my nursing practice.
In the health profession, the diversity of people requires the ability to carefully, respectfully and effectively provide care. For this reason, it is vital that the approach of care delivered to patients depend on each individuals. This approach ensures patients receive best quality of care possible and avoid situations that can potentially prevent improvement of health status. This essay will discuss the importance of nurses to be cultural competent, possible consequences of ethnocentrism and how critical reflection can help prevent ethnocentricity.
Working with different cultures is inevitable in nursing. As nurses we must be open to the challenges of working with different cultures and finding creative solutions to the health care challenges we may experience when caring for patients that are of a different culture. “Culture is an organized group of learned responses, a system of ready-made solutions to the problems people face that is learned through interactions with others in society” (Seibert, Stridh-Igo, & Zimmerman, 2001, p. 143). When caring for patients of other cultures we must avoid ethnocentrism and focus on providing culturally congruent care which is “care that fits the people’s valued life patterns and set of meanings, which is generated from the people themselves, rather than based on predetermined criteria” (Potter & Perry, 2005, p. 120). To accomplish this we must communicate with our patients and families and have a clear understanding of their expectations. If there is a breakdown in communication then there is the potential for conflict and a poor patient outcome.
As a nurse strive to provide culturally sensitive care, they must recognize how their client's and their perceptions are similiar as well as different. Nurse enhance their ability to provide client-centered care by reflecting on how their beliefs and values impact the nurse-patient relationship. To provide appropriate patient care, the nurse must understand her/his culture and that of the nurse profession. Cultural biases can be particularly difficult to identify when the nurse and client are of a similar cultural backgroup. When we recognize and know a culture, we will know what is right for our patient, and thus may impose our own values on the client by assuming our values are their values. Recognizing differences a present an opportunity not only to know the other, but also to help gain a greater sense of self. In this paper, I will explain more about diversity and cultural competence in case study.
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
Garcia, E. (2002). Student cultural diversity: Understanding and meeting the challenge (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.