Cultural competence is defined as possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to appreciate, respect, and work with individuals from different cultures. It is a concept that requires self-awareness, awareness and understanding of cultural differences, and the ability to adapt to clinical skills and practices as needed (London et al. 2003). In the Orthodox Jewish community, there are many strict cultural guidelines that the women must adhere to. Within the following paper I will provide examples that demonstrate why cultural competency is important in nursing. When seeking treatment in the Orthodox Jewish law,it permits men and women from being alone together unless they are close family member, or married to each other. …show more content…
Spousal involvement in the delivery of a child is limited. A nurse may feel that the husband is showing no spousal support or compassion to his wife. During the delivery the nurse can encourage him to give his wife support verbally, but the nurse must understand according to the Jewish laws, if a woman is unclean with mucous discharge, bloody show, or amniotic fluid. The husband may exit the room as he is not allowed stay in the room with his wife while she is being examined, unless she is fully covered and will not be exposed to him. To be considered clean again after childbirth or menstruation , the women must go to a ritual bath called the " Mikveh". The Orthodox Jewish women must consult with their Rabbi for approval of procedures or treatments; amniocentesis or elective cesarean sections. In such cases Orthodox Jewish couples may call their rabbi to ask for guidance on the subject or to get a blessing from him that all will go well. This would not be done in medical emergencies, such as a cesarean section for fetal distress or for inductions for medically indicated reasons (Abdelhak 2005). In the Orthodox Jewish community they believe in "Be fruitful and multiply". It is Gods will how many children she will have, in this case the woman will avoid ever having a cesarean section as it can limit the amount of children she can have and she will not be able to fulfill Gods will. After childbirth, the nurse must be aware of
Health in all cultures is an important aspect of life. A person’s cultural background, religion and/or beliefs, greatly influences a person’s health and their response to medical care (Spector, 2004). These diverse cultures guide decisions made in daily life; what food eaten, living arrangements made, medications taken and medical advice listened to. A nurse must be knowledgeable and respectful of these diverse cultures and understand their importance when providing care. This understanding helps to build a strong nurse/patient relationship, increasing patient compliance, which ensures positive outcomes are met. Patients who are satisfied
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
Culture has more than one definition. It can be defined as the language spoken throughout a group of people or even the beliefs practiced. In the professional field of nursing, nurses are required to do more than administer medication or change bandages on a patient. To be able to fulfill a nurse’s job requirements, a nurse must learn to be culturally competent. Cultural competency in the professional field of nursing means to care and respect the patient whether or not the health care provider is in agreement with the patient’s decisions.
Nursing has a powerful positive influence on patient lives, because of its intimate nature, as exemplified by the essence of nursing, nurses can make the most significant contribution to patient experiences, safety, and healing. The culture is clear as the dynamic and multidimensional context of many aspects of the life of an individual. It contains gender, faith, sexual orientation, profession, tastes, age, socioeconomic status, disability, ethnicity, and race. The cultural competency, or cultural awareness and sensitivity, is defined as the knowledge and interpersonal skills that consent providers to understand, appreciate, and work with individuals from cultures other than their own. It
The United States is a diverse accumulation of cultural backgrounds which can often set the stage for feelings of confusion, anger, mistrust, and a host of other emotions when dissimilar cultures disagree. Cultural competence in nursing can help eliminate these barriers and provide a platform for nursing to follow in the quest to understand a patient's culture and background. When a nurse takes the time to learn about a given culture prior to providing care, it conveys she respects the patient's right to their beliefs, customs, and culture. It does not necessarily mean the nurse agrees with their practices but
"Cultural competence is defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross cultural situations (Cross et al., 1989; Issacs & Benjamin, 1991). Operationally defined, cultural competence is the integration and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standard, policies, practices, and attitudes, used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the
I consider myself to be a fairly traditional American white woman, with non-denominational Christian beliefs. My ethnicity is sort of a mixture of Irish, German, Native American and a few others, but my main cultural background is traditional American. I do not put a lot of emphasis on my ethnicity, because in my opinion and the opinion of many others as well, Caucasian American can be race and ethnicity. I celebrate traditional American holidays such as Christmas, Independence Day and Thanksgiving. I do eat traditional American foods, but I also love ethnic foods of all kinds. According to McKinney, James, Murray, Nelson and Ashwill (2013), “Belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God and the Messiah comprises the central core of Christianity” and “Study of biblical scripture; practicing faith, good works, and sacramental rites (e.g., baptism, communion, and others); and prayer are common among most Christian faiths” (p.44). I am non-denominational; however, I do believe this statement sums up the main core of my beliefs. I pray, I have been baptized, I believe in good deeds, and attending church. The only difference is that I do not believe that you must attend church or partake in communion to have a relationship with God; I believe that relationship is rather personal. Now in terms of American culture in the healthcare setting, Euromed Info Online indicates that Western industrialized societies such as the United States, which
Culture is a multifaceted characters of a diverse sets of people that have a common ground on values, languages, emotions and identity. It is a symbolic communication perpetuated in a much larger society that influence by means of conditioning and imitation from one generation to the next. Knowledge of cultural diversity is crucial at all levels of nursing practice. It require nurses to be challenge on a multilevel amplitude of social character and commitment. It is empirical that the nurse consider specific cultural factors impacting on each individual patients and be able to recognize its differences. The impact of cultural diversity on each patient start with the nurse as a co-provider and influence on the perceptions, interpretations and behaviors of a particular specific cultural group. Nurses need to understand the validity of how culture minded patients understand life process, health, illness, death, and dying. Through collaboration and scientific evidence of multicultural society can bring about a culturally-relevant and responsive services.
Cultural competence in nursing can provide a platform for nursing to understand a patient's culture and background. When a nurse takes the time to learn about a given culture
Cultural Competence is when you bring employees together of various cultural backgrounds as well as those that have different values, beliefs, Attitudes and behaviors to form a system that helps them work together effectively (Ingram, 2012). Cultural Competency is very important in any work environment because it opens up communication between co-workers in conversations so that they can work together without barriers. When health providers and workers can come together to help each other better understand patients and their different beliefs as well as value them it helps in serving each patients unique needs (Campinha-Bacote, 2011). Some of the patient that may fall under cultural competency are those
Cultural competences are behaviours, values, attitudes and policies that a body of professionals should encompass in order to effectively work with other cultures (Bureau of Primary Health Care 2005). Culture includes shared values, beliefs, religion, norms and customs. Competence is the ability to function as an individual and part of a team (Office of Minority Health 2017). According to Mayhew cultural competence also involves the impact that culture has on how an individual perceives health, illness and recovery (Mayhew 2016). The Georgetown University emphasized that cultural competence is being able to provide health services that meet social, cultural and language needs of service users. There are different definitions because cultural competency can be viewed from different angles. One angle is from the healthcare professional and what skills they require in order to present cultural competency. The second view is from the service users and one’s culture may affect their perception of health.
Culture defined as “ an integrated pattern of human behaviour that include the language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, or social groups.”1 Competence refers to “the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviours, and needs presented by consumers and their communities.”2
Increasing nurses’ degree of cultural competence begins with baccalaureate nursing education and curriculum. Long (2012) infers that despite nursing schools’ inclusion of cultural diversity content in coursework, the curriculum highlights theory and knowledge without emphasizing the need to develop culturally sensitive skills in nursing practice. Cultural knowledge is only one of the steps involved in enhancing student nurses’ cultural competence. It is essential for baccalaureate nursing students to also exercise self-awareness of cultural values, beliefs, and personal prejudices through multiple learning experiences, which requires a great amount of time, training, and self-reflection (Long, 2012). In addition to traditional lecture presentations,
Health is defined a state of wellbeing which is equally viewed by many different cultures. However, the definition of wellbeing is seen differently among cultures, in relationship to their beliefs and values. (DeNisco & Barker, 2015). Cultural care in nursing is a very important part of nursing care, whether the nurse is a bedside RN or a practicing primary care NP. There are many theories in nursing related to cultural care. Most encompass the need for nurses to take into consideration the cultural caring behaviors and values of individuals and families to provide culturally competent nursing care.
My southern heritage has directly influenced the person I am today. I grew up in South Louisiana and I have lived there all 25 years of my life. My childhood was not easy, but I think those tough situations prepared me for life, and taught me the value of family. I attended a private, Christian school and I am so appreciative of my parent’s sacrifices that allowed me to receive that education. I would describe myself as a kind, hardworking individual who respects, cares for, and values others. I believe these attributes are a genuine reflection of my upbringing. My Christian faith is what motivates me each day and it is also what has inspired me to help others through a career in nursing.