The Importance Of Culture In Nursing Care

To be able to deliver adequate nursing care to all, nurses must understand and establish culture respect and awareness. Nurses and all health care professional must demonstrate cultural competency, cultural sensitivity. Nurses must understand that different cultures have different customs and beliefs and nurses must know how to deliver correct nursing care to these different individuals. Culture refers to the collective deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs values, attitude, meanings, hierarchies, religion, roles relations, and possessions attained by a small or large group of people in the course of generations through individuals and groups. I choose the Hispanic cultural group primarily because, I currently work in the Desert Valley

A research performed by Loma Linda, California determined that Hispanic Americans hold several expectations of their healthcare providers and this include their nurses as well (Manfred, Mcfadden & Belliard, 2006). One of the major difference between the Hispanic outlooks of health is, the holistic approach which cover the spiritual, physical, moral and emotional aspects inside one’s life.

Health and illness is significantly subjective by one’s faith in God and not just their physical health behaviors. Hispanic believe that a common cold, with a consistent cough, fevers and rashes is thought to be caused by walking bare feet in cold wet weather. Another belief is that conjunctivitis is processed through the wind flow of air than the disease agents itself. Most nurses are not familiar with the treatment Hispanics use to treat such disease. Some of their practices such as salt enemas, lemon juice or cigarette smoke on the eyes, urine on the face, or placing bleach in wounds are all damaging to a patient’s health. However, these treatments may be encouraged in the Hispanics traditional illness and treatment. It is suggested that a nurse treating a patient who practices traditional medicine remains culturally sensitive while explaining the harm of such remedies. Maybe, the greatest significant part permitting trust between the nurse and the patient is, upholding respect

By doing this, it promotes the cultural diversity among the nurses in a healthcare setting. Obstacles to care, such as miscommunication, mistrust, and misunderstanding can be easily avoided. For example, if a nurse is unable to communicate effectively with a Hispanic patient, it is vital that an interpreter be provided to make sure the best use of resource is available. As a nurse who speaks primarily English, I make sure that the resource is available for the patient to get a clear understanding before discharge. A couple of resources that I found helpful are, printing out discharge instructions in Spanish so that the patient can get a clear understanding of what care needs to continue, when the next appointment needs to be followed up, and what medication to continue or discontinue after