Cultural Competence in Nursing
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Cultural Competence in Nursing
Introduction
Cultural competence is the development of an understanding and creation of effective interaction with individuals from other cultures. To practice cultural competence, one must understand their culture, be willing to learn about different cultures and the comprehensive worldviews of others, and have a positive attitude toward other cultures (Sharifi et al., 2019). Cultural competence is summed up by accepting and respecting other peoples' cultures. In nursing, cultural competence demonstrates the nurses' ability to provide the ultimate care to patients while showing cultural knowledge of their values, race, and beliefs. Cultural regard is critical to delivering high-quality health services by meeting patients' cultural needs. Therefore, nurses must gather cultural information from patients before attending to them.
Gathering Patient's Cultural Information
Nurses can gather cultural information via cultural assessment tools or a questionnaire. However, cultural assessment is the most effective method, as patients interact directly with the nurses. Briefly, cultural assessment entails questions about ethnic background, family patterns, religious beliefs, food choices, eating orders, traditional practices, and health practices. Culturally competent nurses can create relationships with patients based on trust, breaking down any quality medical treatment inhibitor and increasing the probability of wanted patient results. A cultural assessment tool involves questions that define family dynamics, like family decision-making roles (Handtke et al., 2019). Note; some cultures are led by the head of the family, even in matters involving medical decisions. For instance, one culture may allow a husband to make a healthy decision for his wife, while in others, the father to the wife is the one to make the healthy decision. A cultural assessment tool's most important part is developing a care plan while eliminating cultural assumptions and presenting working facts.
Cultural Competence & Better Patient Care
The relationship between cultural competence and better patient care is intertwined in the patient's emotional and physical states that are largely influenced by cultural practices and beliefs and the reaction shown by health providers as they navigate through the set plan of care. Through practicing cultural competence, nurses demonstrate mutual respect and understanding, and patients feel treated in the right manner, making nurses better advocates of quality health care (Sharifi et al., 2019). Language and other communication barriers can hinder the delivery of quality care. For instance, a study showed significant cholesterol and blood pressure reductions in Russian-speaking patients after a bilingualist intern got introduced to an American hospital to resolve the language barrier problem. Therefore, cultural competence assists nurses' understanding, communication, and interaction with patients as it directly influences the relationship between nurses and their patients. Primarily, cultural competence focuses on reducing disparities in medicine.
Demonstration of Cultural Competence in Nursing
Demonstration of cultural competency comes with an understanding of culture and cultural differences. Nurses are supposed to analyze, consider and respect everyone's culture throughout the nursing practice. Communicating through easy terms and avoiding judging and disrespecting other peoples' cultures demonstrate cultural competence (McGregor et al., 2019). Showing empathy and concern for patients helps them emotionally, and they feel in the right place. To acquire cultural competence, one must be aware of his cultural practices and biases to avoid a lack of knowledge regarding a particular area. Also, active listening while participating in a nurse-patient conversation improves cultural competency. Lastly, seeking out cultural familiarity puts us in a ready state to interact with people from different cultures.
References
Handtke, O., Schilgen, B., & Mösko, M. (2019). Culturally competent healthcare–A scoping review of strategies implemented in healthcare organizations and a model of culturally competent healthcare provision. PloS one, 14(7), e0219971.
McGregor, B., Belton, A., Henry, T. L., Wrenn, G., & Holden, K. B. (2019). Improving behavioral health equity through cultural competence training of health care providers. Ethnicity & disease, 29(Suppl 2), 359.
Sharifi, N., Adib-Hajbaghery, M., & Najafi, M. (2019). Cultural competence in nursing: A concept analysis. International journal of nursing studies, 99, 103386.