Preview

Cultural Diversity In Nursing

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1413 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cultural Diversity In Nursing
Cultural Diversity in Nursing
Name
Institution

Cultural Diversity in Nursing Introduction
Cultural diversity in nursing is concept that is derived from nursing and other cross-cultural health-related disciplines such as psychology, sociology and anthropology. Culture is simply used to refer to the belief systems held by groups of people in the society. Therefore, cultural diversity is defined as, “the differences between people based on a shared ideology and valued set of beliefs, norms, customs, and meanings evidenced in a way of life” (Lowe & Archibald, 2009). Culture influences individual’s behavior, perceptions and also interpretations. Therefore, integrating culture in healthcare is critical. This is in efforts to create
…show more content…
In the healthcare system, there are people from different cultural groups. For instance, we have people from different racial groups, ethnicity, tribe, religion and so forth. This includes both the providers and the patients. To a great extent, our culture defines our practice. The concept of cultural diversity in nursing was first established in 1955 by Madeleine Leininger, one of the pioneers of transcultural nursing. As an area of knowledge, cultural diversity in nursing, also known as transcultural nursing, was aimed at equipping nurses with knowledge that will help them in delivering culturally appropriate nursing care (Lowe & Archibald, 2009). Madeleine Leininger believed in the diversity and universality of cultural care. For that reason, he established transcultural nursing from the year 1955 to 1975. Madeleine refined the concept of transcultural nursing through the “sunrise model”. The expansion of the concept continued even after 1975 to present. In 1966, the University of Colorado started transcultural nursing courses. The concept was later established internationally in 1983 (Lowe & Archibald, …show more content…
Every healthcare facility and provider is determined to provide patient-centered care. This is due to the fact that among the six goals of healthcare is provision of patient-centered care. In order to provide patient-centered care, it is important to understand all the needs of the patient. This includes the culture. The nurse should understand what food the patient takes or does not take his or her beliefs and dressing style, among others. By doing so, the nurse will gain the trust from the patient which is important in the care. Eventually, the patient is satisfied with the quality of care which results in improved patient outcomes (Pilkington, Singh, Prescod & Buettgen, 2013).
Controversies Related to Nursing Despite the benefits associated with integration of cultural diversity in healthcare, there are some areas of this concept that have brought about some controversies. Some cultural beliefs or practice are in contrary with the goals of healthcare. For instance, there are some people based on their faith who refuse to take any medication or seek conventional treatment. Hence, under such cases there is a controversy on which way to handle the situation (Pilkington, Singh, Prescod & Buettgen, 2013). The other area of controversy is extreme faiths held by some people. In some cultures, some behaviors such as undressing before someone of opposite sex are considered immoral. Hence, when a nurse from an opposite gender

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Nurses need to be culturally sensitive to provide competent care. The cumulative diversity within the healthcare workforce itself has received much less attention; yet without attending to increasing diversity in both groups, it is doubtful that efforts to improve cultural competence will be successful. One may be aware of many different cultures, but due to one’s biases, he or she will still not provide the appropriate care. In order for healthcare providers to become culturally competent they need to have the desire, skills, awareness and knowledge. Cultural competence among primary care givers is crucial to identify problems and create proper plans of care for the patient.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nurses are continually educated on transcultural nursing. In nursing school and in the workplace, cultural diversity is taught.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being present in one of the world’s largest medical centers allows for a nurse to experience multiple cultures in the care of patients and communities. The heritage assessment tool can be utilized by nurses to understand differences among cultural values as they relate to health maintenance, health promotion and health restoration. Collecting data in regards to a patient’s culture is an essential part of a cultural nursing assessment (American Nurses Association website, n.d.). The relevance of a cultural assessment can’t be neglected. This paper will speak to the…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the beginning of the course, the student did not do well on this quiz, which she found to be very upsetting. She has always considered herself to be open-minded, compassionate, and supportive of others, especially of those who may be vulnerable. This course has taught the student that transcultural nursing is so much more than smiling and being pleasant. To be acceptable to all cultures you can hold no stereo-types. The nurse needs to understand how cross cultural misunderstandings can and will impact clinical outcomes. If one desires optimal outcomes for their patients, then they must become knowledgeable of the culture and make considerations regarding treatments appropriately. For example, it is part of the Filipino American culture to perceive an individual’s health issue as a family issue. When caring for a Filipino patient, the nurse needs to base his or her nursing interventions on family structure and organization (Giger & Davidhizar, 2008). Each culture contains various preferences and beliefs and it is the responsibility of the healthcare provider to research the culture and be aware of such differing…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Flowers, D. (2004). Culturally Competent Nursing Care A Challenge for the 21st Century. Critical Care Nurse, 24(4), 87-87. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/24/4.toc…

    • 1591 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    As nurses, we not only need to understand cultural competence, but we also have to be sure not to generalize groups of people. Each client is an individual, and it is important to form a therapeutic relationship so we can care for each specific client. Each client has his/her own needs; just because two people are of the same culture, it doesn’t mean that he/she believes in the same thing. In turn, nurses need to understand their own culture and beliefs before caring for a person of a different culture or beliefs. In our research, we chose four peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles found though the Lambton College data base (CINAHL). We began with a search of cultural competency and then narrowed the search down through specific cultures which are within the Sarnia Lambton area.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As nurses we come in contact with a wide variety of individuals, they all come from different backgrounds whether it is related to education, social class, ethnicity, or religion. Each individual has their own culture beliefs and it is our duty as nurses to recognize and investigate what those beliefs are to have a better understanding of them and to help guide us in providing the best possible care we can for each patient we encounter. The Heritage Assessment Tool is a great way to bridge the cultural gap between nurse and patient; by gaining cultural competence there can be a greater understanding of patient’s needs thus promoting patient centered care.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Topic 3 Wed DQ1

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The dissections of race, ethnicity, and culture are more sharply drawn in the health of the people in the United States. Diversity is predominant in our society, and the patients and our co-workers in our healthcare system today evidently validate that fact. Cultural competence is the combination and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of services; thereby producing better outcomes (CDC, 2014).…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Racher, F., & Annis, R. (2007). Respecting culture and honoring diversity in community practice. Research & Theory For Nursing Practice, 21(4), 255-270…

    • 1477 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Health care providers encounter and care for a diverse population of patients. When caring for these patients, providers must be properly prepared to care for not only for their cultural needs but also for their spiritual/faith needs. Nurses must have a basic yet broad knowledge of cultural and spiritual needs of patients whether in the hospital setting, clinic setting, or physician’s office. This document will explore three different faiths and compare them to Christianity and the author’s own faith/spirituality. The three faiths being explored and compared are Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Basic knowledge of each one of these culture’s preferences for medical care, prayer/meditation, diet, view of illness, and view of death will permit the health care provider to provide care that is culturally congruent. Providing patient care that is culturally congruent, will help promote patient healing, wellness, and compliance if the patient feels they are being not only medically cared for but spiritually nurtured.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Healthcare is an area where cultural can play a major role in the overall health and wellness of an individual. Providers need to be sensitive to the patient’s traditional ways of medicine while combined with the traditional western method of medicine. Healthcare professionals also need to be aware of the plethora of languages and dialects that are now part of the American population as well as religious beliefs. Barker (2009) identifies these factors to prevent bias or stereotyping of the patient. Nurses are patient advocates and to ensure that the patient needs are being met, this group will need to utilize their skills to bridge that gap between cultural competence and cultural conflict. For nurses to be able to effectively do this there needs to be…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The most important aspect of health care delivery that is centered on the patient is that the nurse needs to respect the decision of the patient (Douglas et al., 2011). This aspect is due to the fact that, the patients are supposed to be incorporated in every other decision that the nurse and other members of the health care team have to make over the life and treatment of the patient. With close reference to the aspect of cultural differences, there are patients that will be particularly cautious of their cultural beliefs and in most of the cases will want these beliefs to be respected and maintained at all times. As mentioned earlier, these beliefs may range from, diets, clothing, gender of the attendant, religious observations to matters relating to pain, healing and death (Peterson-Iyer, 2014). As such the nurse has to work with the patient and the family to come to an understanding and agreement on the best way forward. In an example, it is common for registered nurses to be faced with patients who do not want to be attended by nurses of the opposite sex. It is important that the nurses understand that this is not the patient’s way of saying that they do not need help. They just want help that coincides with their cultural beliefs, which they are entitled to at…

    • 2866 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    fmily health

    • 1797 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Health care workers must realize that addressing cultural diversity goes beyond knowing the values, beliefs, practices and customs of African Americans, Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans/Alaskan Natives, and Pacific islanders. In addition to racial classification and national origin, there are many other faces of cultural diversity. Religious affiliation, language, physical size, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability (both physical and mental), political orientation, socio-economic status, occupational status and geographical location are but a few of the faces of diversity. (Camphina-Bacote, 2003)…

    • 1797 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Emerging Standards

    • 1989 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Diversity is exhibited in many ways, including a multiplicity of upbringing, dress, thought, lifestyle, values, food preferences, family relationships, and in gender, ethnicity, and age. These factors exist throughout the gamut of health care patients and the interactions designed with the nurses who care for them. Diversity in healthcare refers to the cultural setting in how the patient lives and in some measure defining their connection to healing, health, and their own role in the nurse to patient relationship (University of Phoenix, 2012).…

    • 1989 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Omeri, A. (2004). Cultural diversity: a challenge for community nurses. - PubMed - NCBI. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15551669…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics