The Nurses Role as a Cultural Broker - Essay Example

"The Nurse’s Role as a Cultural Broker" is a perfect example of a paper on care. Nurses as cultural brokers have a role of building awareness as well as understanding the cultural factors of the diverse communities that they serve and determine ways in which community factors influence them. According to  Harting, Kunst, Kwan, & Stronks (2011) nurses as cultural brokers link, bridge, and mediate between persons and groups of different cultural backgrounds for the purpose of producing a change in enhancing safety practices in the community. As cultural brokers, nurses need not be members of the particular cultural community or group but it is important for them to have a history and experience of the cultural groups that they serve to be able to understand the values and believes of the people in enhancing change. It entails interventions consisting of the mediation of the traditional believes and practices of the patient's culture and the health care system (Gerrish et al., 2011).

Nursing interventions appropriate to the situation described in Child Bride

In regards to the situation described in Child Bride nurses as a cultural broker, the appropriate nursing intervention is bridging the gap between the traditional practices carried out in the community of “forced early marriages” through building knowledge and understanding of the impacts involved in serving as mediators of an agent of change. The article describes marriages that take place illegally and secretly where young girls as young as 10 and 13 years are wedded by elder spouses who are three times older than they are. This is Indian society is considered as a norm, and the female gender is considered weaker than the male gender and will not be allowed to continue with their education. This is a legal action according to the law as the child brides are often disempowered, deprived of their rights to health, safety, and education (Henrion, 2003). Moreover, they neither are emotionally nor physically ready to become mothers and wives while others never understand totally what is expected of them. These brides often are at a higher risk of experiencing birth-related complications during pregnancy suffer from domestic violence and are even infected with HIV /AIDS since their husbands are sexually mature and experienced than they are. As illustrated in the story, cultural beliefs, gender, and social norms all contribute to the pressure of early marriages. Therefore, it is important to sensitize the community to the impacts and consequences involved in educational campaigns in an effort of enacting change in the social norms and practices (Cicchetti & Toth, 2005).

Felling’s and how ICN Codes and ANA Codes reflect values of a registered nurse

The codes act as a guide or the nurses to carry out responsibilities that are in line with the expected nursing practice. It is the fundamental responsibility of nurses to promote health, restore health, prevent the occurrence of diseases as well as alleviate suffering in the community. This has been further outlined and stipulated in the ICN and ANA codes reflecting the values of nurses. In relation to the case discussed above as outlined in the codes, it is the responsibility of the nurses to share, initiate and develop supportive actions of meeting the social and health needs of the community especially the vulnerable persons. Child marriages before they attain the age of 18 years are considered as a violation of the children's rights as well as a direct form of discrimination against the young girls who are deprived of their basic rights to equity, development, health, and education (Gerrish et al., 2011). Nurses should act as cultural brokers in building the existing gap by empowering and educating the community against early marriages and provide equal opportunities to the girl child.

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