Cultural competence for nurses is defined as the willingness or the desire to understand another person’s culture, the ability to learn about diverse cultural belief systems, and to work effectively as a healthcare professional. This includes, understanding the dynamics of a patient’s culture as it relates to their relationships, interactions, and understanding of overall health. Awareness of one’s own culture, along with the understanding of other cultures, and how this relates to nursing care is essential to improve outcomes for patients (Kardong-Edgren et al., 2010).
In 2010, the United States Census revealed that 37% of the population considered themselves to be minorities, and by 2020 this demographic will increase by 40%. The largest
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Although Connecticut’s demographic is predominantly white, non-Hispanic. The concentration of non-white minority groups is segregated to Connecticut’s urban cities, with 87% of the total States non-white ethnic populations living in urban areas. The organization is strongly committed to the community and provides many services for the underserved. The staff are required to participate in yearly competencies regrading cultural competence, but the organization realized that more focus needed to be given to specific education regarding minorities in the community. There is a Cultural Competence Task Force that focuses on way to increase diversity of the staff and continued improvement of cultural competence throughout the organization The task force implemented a lunch and learn series that discusses different cultures, values, and social norms. The task force has also concentrated their efforts on increasing the diversity of the nursing staff and senior leadership. The organization recognizes that more than 80% of nurses are white, non-Hispanics, and that diversity and cultural competence are crucial in providing safe patient-centered care (Clark, 2009).
Reflecting on my own cultural competence, I feel confident I am aware of the cultural differences in for my target population. Cultural competence is a journey, a series of events that occurs over the span of one’s career. I believe there is no end-point to searching out knowledge of other cultures and gaining understanding. It is through life experience that one learns of other cultures. Caring, empathy, understanding, treating others as you would want to be treated are attributes of my personal philosophy regarding cultural
Cultural competency is increasingly important in healthcare today. In America today, we are facing a lot of tension between cultures today. America is a very diverse country with many cultures co-existing and in order to properly care for patients professionals need to be able to understand and tend to their cultural needs. Whether it be a difference in language, understanding that someone is a veteran and how that may affect them psychologically, or any other set of circumstances that surround a specific culture. Having the knowledge and resources that cater to different cultures makes for better experiences across the board and, consequently, makes for more effective healthcare visits.
In nursing school, students were introduced to the idea of cultural competence. It is a concept that I am familiar with due to my cultural background. Being respectful and aware of the beliefs and values of other traditions cannot be neglected and ignored. We are all global citizens that hold different views and perspectives, therefore leaders must equip themselves with the understanding that people expect and will act differently based on their cultural beliefs.
Studies show that nurses must be culturally competent in order to provide optimal care for their patients. For example, nurses who have knowledge about a patient’s religious culture may not be alarmed when they walk into
Cultural Competence to me is an individual’s, professional’s, or organization’s ability to understand, work, assist, and interact with people from different cultures, ethnicities, religious beliefs, values, gender, age, other than their own. Cultural Competence means being sensitive and aware of the differences that people posses, and then educating one self on those differences to appropriately interact or help them. I believe that cultural competence is an ongoing process that is developed over time. Individuals can obtain the knowledge and skills needed to be culturally sensitive through participating in workshops and trainings, creating family, individual, and community partnerships, and working with people from different ethnic back
As such, cultural competence is an important practice for improve patient and community health and promoting justice for all clients and professional peers. Duly, nursing leaders learn and education cultural integrity as an effective tool in advocating for individual rights. Sources: [1]
In a culturally diverse country like the United States, healthcare professionals such as nurses will work with people of different cultural backgrounds who have different view of health and illness. Mcgoldrick, Giordano & Preto (2006) concluded that a sense of well-being in terms of physical and mental health within a societal context is strongly affected by cultural identity. Shared values, behaviors, beliefs and ethno-cultural attitudes of a community influence life experiences and decision we make (Yolanda & Griselda, 2006). With this in mind, it is essential for the nurses recognize the importance patients’ cultural values rooted in their health seeking behaviors. Culture Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines culture as a
Perhaps the best first step, and simplest, in response to the lack of cultural competency is for physicians in health care settings to place greater emphasis on cultural sensitivity and awareness trainings to improve treatment for Hispanics. The emphasis on this solution is an important starting point that will help increase the effectiveness of future initiatives in health care. Emphasis on cultural sensitivity and awareness is most efficacious in resolving cultural competency because the solution is both practical and simple. By providing training programs within health care settings that specifically focus on cultural sensitivity and awareness, physicians will learn to respond effectively to their Hispanic patients’ needs that show knowledge of their cultural differences. “One-size-fits all” types of prevention and treatment models cannot be applied to Hispanic patients and expect beneficial outcomes, thus “the challenge is for physicians to move beyond their belief systems and values and expand their world views to validate how others function”
Cultural competency has the potential to reduce inequities in access to health services and improve the health status of diverse cultural
Cultural Competence, Diversity and Practice When the topic of cultural diversity is discussed, this includes factors such as a client’s age, gender, sexual preference, spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic status, geographic location, physical and mental capacities (Davis, McPhail, Wiest, & Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1995). To me, the idea of cultural competency is not a skill one simply learns and then adds to his or her tool kit; it is an ongoing process. This involves not only staff development, but self-assessment as well. Cultural competence involves considering minority viewpoints and expanding one’s own perceptions and worldview, the truth is that all counselors have cultural blind spots (Davis, et al., 1995). I also believe the
Examine how public health organizations and health care providers encourage their employees to gain “cultural competence” beyond being bilingual. First they need to enhance their employee’s self-awareness of attitudes they might have towards different racial and ethnic groups. Second they can improve the care that they give by simply increasing their knowledge about different cultural beliefs and practices. How those groups typical seek health care and the attitudes they have toward health care.
Hi Moncy, I agree with you as you noted the increasing diversity of the nation brings opportunities and challenges to health care system, on the other side a culturally competent health care system helps to improve health outcomes and quality of care, which eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. foster advocacy for social justice and increase focus on global healthcare, the cultural competence class benefit diverse population to receive more satisfactory patient care, uplift social justice and increase global health as well cultural competency skills , make self-awareness among nursing workforce also provide an opportunity to staffing to learn and experience life from different perspectives and able to recognize each person has their own
If nurses lack of understanding regarding community demographics and cultural differences, they can have unintentional bias, and stereotype patients due to a lack of awareness of the cultural demographics of the community they serve (Camphinha-Bacote, 2011). Cultural competence is the understanding of different cultures and how that impacts the provision of patient care. Cultural competence in nursing is defined as one willingness or the desire to understand a patient’s culture, the ability to learn about a defined cultures belief system, and to work effectively as a healthcare provider understanding the dynamics of the patient’s culture as it relates to their relationships and care (Kardong-Edgren et Al.,
The way a person thinks about health, “whether that is our ‘philosophy’, our ‘worldview’, our ‘framework’ influences what we do as individuals in practice,” as well as how we deliver the health service. These elements allow us to think about healthcare in our own culturally acceptable way, this isn’t always an acceptable way of delivering the service to people with views different to our own. Cultural competence is an approach that aids in influencing the service and the education of healthcare professionals. (Taylor, K., & Guerin, P., 2010). Cultural competence is defined as a knowledge and understanding of cultures, histories and contemporary realities and awareness of protocols, combined with the proficiency to engage and work effectively in a cultural context congruent to the expectations of the people of that culture.
Cultural competency: Indians Culture competency is defined as one has the knowledge, the abilities and the skill to deliver care congruent with the patient’s cultural beliefs and practices (Purnell, 2013). As a nurse or a health care provider, increasing ones consciousness of culture diversity improves the possibilities for health care practitioners to provide competent care (Purnell, 2013). Nurses and all health care providers should be aware of other cultures to provide the best care that they can for that individual. Developing a relationship with diverse cultural groups involves good interpersonal skills and the application of knowledge and techniques learned from the physical, biological, and social sciences as well as the humanities (Purnell, 2013). I am choosing to select the Indian culture for my first assignment.
Hallmarks of cultural competence, including role development and self-discovery, play an instrumental part in the cultural diversity within an organization as a whole. Diversity stems from the top, from CEO’s and executive boards, and trickles down to employees and patients. However, one thing I learned in this course is that people hold biases that they are unaware of and that cultural competence does not happen overnight. With this acquired knowledge, it has been brought to my attention about which implicit biases I hold and how I can work to eliminate them. Secondly, language access services, as an aspiring speech-language pathologist, play a direct role in my future career because I want to give a voice to the often misunderstood.