Azores Culturally Sensitive Nursing, Essay Example

My nursing educational portfolio has enabled me to acquire new forms of knowledge and to experience a variety of situations where I am able to learn and thrive in order to guide others in achieving their health-related goals and objectives. One experience that would be substantially meaningful and appropriate for my education and in my career path is to complete a clinical nursing rotation at a hospital in the Azores, an area that is comprised of a group of islands off the coast of Portugal. With this experience, I would be able to acquire expert knowledge in culturally sensitive nursing and would adapt to a new environment to ensure that my patients receive the best possible care and treatment while under my watch. Since I am part Portuguese and am fluent in the language, I believe that I could relate to my patients in different ways and be able to communicate effectively with them to identify their concerns in a variety of areas. It is important to me to identify with persons who share my culture because in a healthcare setting, they may become easily fearful and perhaps frustrated with care and treatment that is not culturally sensitive in nature. From this perspective, I could bridge this gap and enable patients to experience a greater sense of comfort within these surroundings so that they are able to take away a positive and meaningful perspective of healthcare practice.

My knowledge of the Portuguese culture and of the language will also provide a greater connection to my classmates because many also possess some degree of English-speaking proficiency; therefore, I would be able to share ideas and communicate more effectively with them to support their objectives as well as my own. It is very important to me to gain a variety of experiences within the nursing profession and to acquire educational opportunities in different environments that I am not accustomed to, because this provides an elevated learning curve that will enhance my delivery of care and treatment to all patients. I believe that it is important to be mindful of cultural identities and characteristics, as these introduce new challenges for patients when their clinical providers are unable to understand their needs in an effective manner. In these instances, patient care quality and delivery may fail and is not likely to be effective at the desired level. It is important to me to minimize these differences and to take each and every experience as an opportunity to learn and to refocus or adjust my priorities as necessary to facilitate positive experiences for my patients. I believe that my patients will truly benefit from my diverse knowledge base and experiences because I am able to relate to them on a personal level, while also bringing another level of knowledge and professionalism to the care and treatment experience to ease their fears and provide comfort during a challenging period.

My objective to become a nurse practitioner also demonstrates my desire to work with many diverse populations and to recognize the value of communication in these experiences. I am committed to providing the best possible conditions under which my patients are able to receive high quality healthcare and to heal as appropriate. My experience in the Azores would expand my education and enable me to be effective in working with my patients in a different type of setting. Since not all healthcare environments are built the same, I must be able to adjust and be flexible as I learn the system within the new environment in order to make each experience with my patients as comfortable as possible. This will demonstrate my ability to work proactively in reaching out to patients who might not understand the nature of their health status, while also acquiring new knowledge in the process. I believe that it is important to treat each patient with compassion and understanding so that he or she is able to experience the best possible conditions under which to heal and to recover. The healthcare process is intimidating and often frightening for patients; therefore, I must work to minimize these fears and to make the best of each and every situation so that patients are able to have a positive and meaningful experience in this regard.