Sharon Colton
South University
Cultural Competent Nursing Care
Cultural competent nursing care is the expectation in today’s society. As nurses, we need to be mindful of different cultures and their healthcare beliefs. We need to be able to adapt to our patient’s cultural needs in order to provide holistic care to our patients and their families. “Health-care providers must recognize, respect, and integrate clients ' cultural beliefs and practices into health prescriptions to eliminate or mitigate health disparities and provide client satisfaction.” (Purnell, 2009, p. 3)
In Columbia, there are many areas that can affect nursing care in this culture. Some of them are language, family organization, …show more content…
I have learned that although many cultures are different, they all have various degrees of similarities. Being sensitive to different cultures is the key to providing culturally competent care. Many different cultures have strong religious beliefs, like Jewish, Muslims and Catholics. Many cultures have different dietary habits, such as Somali’s eating with right hand only, Jewish people eating a kosher diet, and Hindu’s theory of hot and cold foods. Also, cultures have different customs in regards to death, such as Catholics not accepting organ donation and autopsies, Hindus preferring to die at home with last rites, and Filipinos believing that living wills and advance directives are tempting fate. Understanding these differences allows the nurse to have a broader knowledge base of different cultures. With this increased knowledge, the nurse should be able to provide culturally competent care to the patient, as well as, educate staff in regards to the world’s many different culture’s traditions and …show more content…
As nurses, we should be aware of our own biases and judgments, so that we can be more understanding of other cultures. The key to providing culturally competent care is being sensitive of other cultures, asking appropriate questions and adapting nursing care to provide the best care for the patient and their families. References
Kemp, C. (2005). Mexican & Mexican-Americans: Health Beliefs & Practices. Retrieved from https://bearspace.baylor.edu/Charles_Kemp/www/hispanic_health.htm
Purnell, L. D. (2009). Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care (2nd Ed.). Retrieved from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9780803623576/pages/48744698
The Hispanic American Community. (2012). Retrieved from