Paper Cultural Competent Nursing 1
Paper Cultural Competent Nursing 1; Kendra K. Collins Cultural Competence in Nursing Care Jo Anne Long Walker, Instructor SOC 5820: Mgmt. & Admin. in Older Adult Settings February 16, 2015 Cultural Competence in Nursing Care The numbers of minorities in the United States has significantly increased within the last decade.
More specifically, older adults ages 65 and older also are becoming more culturally diverse. These changes in the population changes are also affecting the composition of facilities that care for older adults with functional limitations. Due to the fast growing number of minorities, nursing staff should begin to implement cultural competence to specifically meet the needs of their older patients.
According to McBride, cultural competence is the when health care professionals have the ability to deliver health care in ways that are acceptable and useful to older adults because it is consistent with their cultural background and expectations (2012). The crucial need to provide patients with culturally competent care was recognized by The American Nurses Association (ANA).
ANA has shown the need of cultural competent care by stating in the associations code that nurses, in all professional relationships, should practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual.
Communication across cultural differences is the key to nurses providing adequate care in our increasingly diverse society. In this article, I first will discuss why cultural competence in nursing care is important. I will then conduct a brief review of the cultural competence nursing literature, followed by an example of practicing cultural competence in nursing, a discussion of the model designed to assist nurses in providing cultural competent care, ways healthcare professionals can implement cultural competency, and pitfalls of providing cultural competent care. Cultural Competence in Nursing: Why its Important As mentioned in the introduction, being culturally competent in the nursing field is important, and there are several reasons why this type of care is important. When a nurse is knowledgeable about the patients and family’s expectations, traditions, values, norms, and lifestyle they are often able to provide care plans that are more effective at the beginning of service.
Murphy (2011) asserts that practicing with cultural competency is important- because culture influences not only affect how nursing staff provide care, but also how illness is perceived by older patients. An additional importance of providing cultural competent care in the article is knowing the patients ethnicity, which can offer genetic information that is commonly shared by people of the same ancestry.
For example, knowing how a disease will manifestation and how certain prescription medications will effect different cultural groups. Additionally, Murphy (2011) discusses how it is important to address attitudes to develop into a culturally competent caregiver. Being mindful of how individuals behaviors and thinking are influenced by their culture allows nursing staff best meet the need of patients. Being knowledgeable of specific ethnic groups rules communication patterns, family roles, rules of interaction, and spirituality will allow nursing staff to understand patient attitudes.
Furthermore, Murphy (2011) notes that when nursing staff become aware of their own attitudes and tendencies to stereotype with regard to different cultural groups allows you to provide genuine care and concern (2011). Lastly, another importance is mentioned in the article Caring for Minority Ethnic Older People in Nursing Care Homes. Authors Mold, Fitzpatrick, and Roberts (2005) suggest facilities are unable to meet the range of language, cultural, and religious needs of the population which creates problems in delivering the best quality care to ethnic elders. Experiences in Cultural Competence Natalie…