Cultural Competency, Term Paper Example

Cultural competency relates to the nurse’s or professional’s ability to adequately interact with people based on their religious, gender, socio-economic, ethnic, educational levels, language and innate peculiar dispositions. It is looking beyond differences, realizing a commonality among these preceding variables, which combine to create a network of cultures across the world (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).

The importance of knowing that cultural differences exist among peoples is the first step in developing cultural competency. However, within nursing practice to emphasize that a nurse or health care profession be aware that cultural differences exist is just an understatement. Nursing must be culturally related and relevant in meeting the needs of clients/patients. When interacting on the community level as a community healthcare nurse inevitable programs or interventions must be planned for a group of people or families. Cultural competence would enable the nurse to design strategies which are in alignment with the values espoused through that person’s culture.

For example, one religious group does not believe in blood transfusion. As a nurse within the community or on clinical rotation cultural competency will allow that healthcare provider to rr4espect those values and refused forcing that or those individuals to confirm to their way of thinking or the institution’s mandate that bleeding patient/client must have a blood transfusion

Importantly, cultural competency enforces practicing four major skills. First, the nurse must be aware of their person biases and cultural orientations. Next there must be an understanding of how attitudes are developed with culture. Thirdly, the individual must demonstrate cultural intelligence by knowing and understanding the people’s cultural, which is different from theirs and finally practice cross cultural skills (Moule, 2012). Successful application of these cultural competency features would determine the patient’s response successful to treatment.

References

Edelman, C. L., & Mandle, C. L. (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span (7 ed.). [Pageburst]. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com

Moule, Jean (2012). Cultural Competence: A primer for educators. Wadsworth/Cengage, Belmont, California.