Culturally Competent Nursing Care - Research Paper Example

? Culturally Competent Nursing Care Question: Describe 5 points or areas that would affect nursing care for a person of Filipino culture. For each of the 5 areas, explain what changes should be made in nursing care to provide culturally competent care. Introduction Nursing care is a vital part of our society as it is directly connected to social welfare of people who cannot independently carry out routine activities of life. Since it is a direct function of interaction with people, it is significantly influenced by cultural and ethnic factors. Healthcare professionals must recognize these differences and understand distinguishing needs of patients belonging to diverse backgrounds. This paper focuses on implications of providing care to person belonging to Filipino culture. Filipino Americans are one of the fastest growing Asian communities in the United States. However, issues of nursing care relating to this diverse cast are largely neglected (Sue et al., 1995). A critical discussion in this regard is provided in the subsequent sections of this paper. Nursing care for person from Filipino culture Filipinos represent one of the largest and poorest proportions of minorities in various countries around the world. Due to lack of sufficient funds, these Asians tend to avoid using healthcare facilities until they suffer from a critical injury or chronic disease. Even in such extreme cases, they prefer to abandon the treatment procedures on premature terms to minimize due charges. Apart from this, there are several other obstacles which nurses must consider when dealing with patients belonging to this culture, few of which follow: a) Filipinos are very family-oriented and seek motivation through their intimate relationships with family members and loved ones. They are often observed to feel more comfortable with family members around when interacting with medical staff. b) Personal space is one of the critical factors valued by Filipinos. They do not appreciate unwanted or excessive intrusion in their personal matters of history. Moreover, they prefer an appropriate level of physical and psychological proximity from nurses. Often, responses delivered by them are confusing and vague. Physical gestures and body language are largely influenced by cultural practices, which might reflect contradictory mannerism for nurses (Sanchez & Gaw, 2007). c) These Asian Americans come from a medical community where medications are very commonly used and recommended by practitioners. Thus, they have inherent expectations of being prescribed medicines on their regular checkups by general physicians. They are not openly willing to modern therapies and do not easily accept unconventional non-medication treatments (Tseng, 2003). d) Since they belong to a minority, they have built-in inferiority complex that needs to be eradicated prior to initiating treatment. A neutral and impersonal therapy, which might work normally for masses, can be alienating for Filipinos since they are not familiar with the professional psychiatric approach. e) One of the core attitudes exhibited by minorities, like Filipinos, is the sensitivity towards their ethnic beliefs and religious rituals. Often, they break into an argument with medical personnel, based on their conflicting opinions that are shaped by their spiritual practices. Recommendations for culturally competent care Considering the abovementioned problems faced by nursing staff with respect to their caretaking duties towards Filipino patients, it is essential that they are well-prepared and trained to furnish culturally competent services. To combat these issues, medical practitioners shall follow the following guidelines: a) Effective communication with patients is pivotal for ensuring professionalism and cultural consideration. Nurses must be well-conversed in different languages and must take utmost care when deciding to either speak directly with the patient or otherwise indirectly through their family members. Certain sensitive information must be communicated through indirect channel to avoid emotional confrontation, embarrassment and retaliation. However, privacy must not be breached if patient wishes to keep his information intact. Those people should be identified who have leading influence on patients as they might come in handy to overcome communication barriers. b) Staff must respect the need of patients for personal space and privacy. A suitable distance shall be maintained at all times to avoid unnecessary physical as well as eye contact. Nurses must be alert for any visual cues, expressions and body movements that shall signal knowledge about their stance. Cultural practices and norms must be adhered to, such as calling patient by his first name might be considered uncustomary or disrespectful by some of them. c) Practitioners must be vigilant for any potential side effects and resultant allergies that can be caused to diverse patients by trying modern methods of therapy. One must take a slow and steady approach, learning carefully about their medical history and local orientation and establishing the root causes for current condition. A concrete understanding shall be developed regarding problems faced by patient and the most suitable treatment plan shall be prepared that corresponds accurately to cultural implications. d) A highly interactive and proactive approach is required by medical staff to ensure that patients are absolutely comfortable with the treatment. They must be properly educated and trained for providing culturally competent healthcare services. The medical institutions shall integrate mandatory clinical training hours and minimum educational requirements in the overall curriculum. Hospitals shall have in place a continuing education and professional development plan for all practitioners. This plan shall have a significant focus on preparing staff for cultural competence through appointment of diversified workforce, celebrations of various rituals and development of strong attitudes against discrimination (Lauderdale & Miller, 2009). e) Religious susceptibilities are one of the leading reasons for interpersonal conflicts faced in organizations today. Medical personnel must acknowledge these differences and maintain focus on primary duty to diagnose and cure diseases rather than attempting to influence their ethnic beliefs. To cater this, hospitals must encourage regular research and development carried out by staff members to acquire awareness of current and emergent cultural trends. These researches must aim at identifying and encouraging adoption of best global practices that have been rigorously tested and largely accepted by maximum number of cultures. In newer areas of cultural competence where there is lack of material available, extra efforts shall be put to assess which practices shall be most appropriate. Hence, a sufficient budget shall be allocated to fund such cultural researches, to compensate hired interpreters and translators and arrange educational programs for nurses. If practicable, an in-house dedicated division may be created that works all year long on resolving cultural and ethnic conflicts and researching into different methodologies (Andrews & Boyle, 2002). Conclusion It is evident from aforementioned arguments that medical practitioners and nurses have extensive responsibilities towards stabilization of cultural differences. They must consider and recognize all potential disparities that might eventually become a cause of conflict or discrimination. However, it is not possible for staff members to support this cause independently on their own; healthcare organizations must establish strong structure, environment and workforce that are adequate to meet the diversified needs of patients belonging to different cultures and languages. Cultural competence can be achieved only through radical improvements in the overall system and society as a whole. References Andrews, M. M., & Boyle, J. S. (2002). Transcultural concepts in nursing care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), 178-180. Lauderdale, J., & Miller, J. (2009). Standards of practice for culturally competent nursing care: A request for comments. Transcultural, 20(3), 257-269. Sanchez, F., & Gaw, A. (2007). Mental health care of Filipino Americans. Psychiatric Services, 58(6), 810-815. Sue, S., Sue, D. W., Sue, L., & Takeuchi, D. T. (1995). Psychopathology among Asian Americans: A model minority?. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 1(1), 39. Tseng, W. S. (2003). Clinician's guide to cultural psychiatry [electronic resource]. Access Online via Elsevier. Read More