It is imperative that nurses gain cultural competency so that they can interact with any patient of any culture in a proactive manner. They must gain knowledge of cultural beliefs, behaviors and heritages so that they can deliver meaningful care. This process of cultural competency must be fluid and never ending, the nurse should be constantly seeking more knowledge (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002). This paper will discuss how to use the Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model to gain cultural competency about Native Americans, relating to pregnancy and childbirth.
Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model was developed in 1988 to teach nursing students how to become culturally competent and provide optimal care to patients. The model states that each person is culturally unique and can be assessed using six different cultural phenomena. These include communication, space, social organization, time, environmental control and biological variations. When nurses consider these areas of culture and use them to deliver care to patients, that is when they reach the level of culturally competent nursing (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002). …show more content…
Every culture is going to have a different social organization and a way of structuring relationships (Galanti, 2008). Social organization is important since it is what helps to bind people together. These relationships that people form have a large impact on personal and community health and wellness (Smith, Wade, Case, Harwell, Straub & Summers, 2014). To provide culturally competent care, the nurse must know how the patient interacts with family and make sure those relationships are