Cultural Competence in Nursing

Introduction

In the nursing field, it is quite essential to understand and encourage cultural competency. It is a factor that needs to be embraced to ensure that the patients get the required attention and care. Different kinds of people visit the health facilities, and they need to be understood at length by the people who attend to them. In the United States of America, Physicians, doctors, and nurses seek to offer excellent services to their patients. Also, they do provide advice and vital information to them on how to live a healthier lifestyle and avoid unhealthy living. This has helped a large population in the United States to embrace a more robust way of life. Different people from diverse origin visit all the healthcare facilities across the nation. The health professionals face some challenges when offering care to these groups of people (Goodman, 2014).

 Misunderstanding resulting from the various cultural differences may lead to improper treatment been offered to the patients. In addition to this, communication barriers are also experienced by the health professionals due to the different languages, backgrounds, and beliefs of their patients. Since the Hispanic people are one of the underprivileged group of people in America, cultural competence is vital when giving health care unto them. This paper seeks to make evident that there is the need to have an artistic expertise, understand the diverse cultures and have quality communication during execution of medical facilities to the people of the Hispanic group (Adrian et al., 2013).

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Summary

In an article by the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists states that proper communication between the patients and their caregivers would be attained if the barriers in principles, practices, and culture of therapeutic individuals. This can be done through establishing means on how to deal with their patients who have a variety of customs. Having an awareness of the factors that hinder clear communication, it would be easier to establish better means to attend to the patients (College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2011).

According to College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2011), it is important to be open-minded and take enough time to learn the different cultures and traditions of their patients. In the same article, the writer gives clear examples in the nursing field where directions are provided on how cultural sensitivity can be used by the nurses to deal with the cases brought to them. Also illustrated in this article is that, not every case related to cultural competence revolves around the migrants’ cultures or their ethnicity. Emphasised in the report is the fact that medical professionals should be more profound about the unique requirements of the individuals they offer services to. Some of these factors they should be sensitive to include faith, gender, age, race, and background. Socio-economic position of the patients should be focused when handling their medical cases (Adrian et al., 2013).

Appreciably, to promote cultural competence, one should include uncluttered questions and tentatively listen to the patients to be able to receive precise and accurate information from them. Much emphasis should be encouraged in addressing the issue of language and cultural obstructions. Leaders of the given cultures should be involved in helping in the realization of the critical factor that would lead to improvement of the provision of quality health facilities to the people. Being aware of the significant cultural variances, the health givers can give efficient and adequate care to their clients. In the cases involving the Hispanic People, understanding their custom is of importance because without explicit indulgence the patients would undergo high levels of stress due to the lack of incorporation of their beliefs (Goodman, Neal R.2014).

The knowledge of the culture is also a barrier that should be addressed. This can be done through obtaining relevant information about the ethnic group. The nurses will have to go through this information to gain more knowledge on their traditions and customs. This information is obtained through research processes, reading from various historical books and journals and also interviewing some of the members of the Hispanic people. Concerning the article, the capability of the medical practitioner to obtain data on the issue brought to them and conducted an examination accurately should be put into consideration. It is vital, for the nurse to use credible information that encompasses a majority of the factors that need to be considered while dealing with cultural sensitivity ( Adrian et al., 2013).While giving medical care to the said group of people, it is essential that the nurses have interactions with the different patients from different backgrounds directly. This is a crucial factor which should be considered to enhance cultural competence. The nurses should be able to exercise these factors throughout their career life because it is made to be a process that is permanent in their profession.

Application

In the United States of America, the population of people of the Hispanic origin is growing very fast, but health caregivers of the same group of people are relatively less. Therefore, it is crucial for nurses to commit themselves to learning their culture and also know the patient personally. This commitment should be exercised throughout their professional life. Empathy is also another aspect that the nurses should adapt to their field of work. Therefore the nurses are encouraged to overcome any obstacles that could be brought about by cultural indifferences. Moral values should for the nurses are essential factors that should be emphasized in the nursing field. Adhering to the standards of the profession helps in offering quality services to the patients. The conduct of the nurses should be admirable. Excellent communication skills should be encouraged and practiced by the nurses to relate well with the patients (Goodman, 2014).

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are less Hispanic nurses in most health facilities in the United States hence the substantial barriers to cultural sensitivity. The nurse’s possible need to commit themselves to learning their culture, language, and ethnicity to give the required medical attention. Therefore, healthcare providers should uphold the understanding, the competence and the sensitivity concerning culture of patients. To ensure that this is achieved, the nurses and other healthcare practitioners should find ways and means to ensure that the obstacles including language obstructions amid them and patients are eliminated

References

Adrian Jacques H. Ambrose, Susan Y. Lin, and Maria B. J. Chun (2013) Cultural Competency Training Requirements in Graduate Medical Education. Journal of Graduate Medical Education: June 2013, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 227-231

College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2011). “Cultural sensitivity and awareness in the delivery of health care.” Committee Opinion No. 493. ObstetGynecol, 117, 1258–6.

Goodman, Neal R.(2014) “Cultural Competence in the Global Healthcare Industry”. Association for Talent Development.