Nursing and Cultural Comoetency, Essay Example

Transcultural nursing has emerged as an integral component of healthcare today, particularly because the burgeoning multicultural population in the U.S. poses great challenges for nurses in the provision of holistic and individualized care to patients.  Such an approach to nursing mandates that nurses both recognize and appreciate cultural variations in healthcare beliefs, values, and customs (Kanchana & Sangamesh, 2016). Cultural competence within the domain of nursing can be defined as developing the cognizance of an individual’s existence, cognitions, sensations, and environment or context without allowing it to exert undue influence on patients from other backgrounds; evincing the understanding and knowledge of the patient’s culture; respecting and accepting cultural differences; and adapting healthcare to be congruent with the culture of the patient (Purnell, 1998). Cultural competence can also be described as how a health practitioner can best address the needs of a patient population that is increasingly diverse and advocates for them in an effective manner. What must be underscored is that culturally-competent nursing care focuses on the ability to recognize the idiosyncratic needs of patients, including their customs, perspectives, language, and beliefs. Within modern contexts, cultural sensitivity remains foundational to all practicing nurses, as nurses must comport themselves according to the code of ethics which mandates that they practice with respect and compassion for the intrinsic worth, dignity and unique attributes of all individuals that they care for.

Licensed practical nurses must adhere to a code of ethics and an ethical paradigm when rendering practice decisions and professional judgments. They must engage in critical inquiry and critical thinking, which underpins their decision-making, and they deploy self-reflection to better understand the effects of personal beliefs, values, and presuppositions when they provide healthcare to their patients. As such, licensed practical nurses must establish caring, therapeutic, and culturally-competent and safe relationships with both the members of their healthcare team and patients predicated on respect and appropriate relationship boundaries for the right of the patient to self-determination (CCPNR, 2013). Indeed, licensed practical nurses work collaboratively with patients and their healthcare team, so they must evince the capacity to promote comfort, safety, and cultural sensitivity while also engaging patients in pinpointing their health strengths, needs, goals, and abilities (CCPNR, 2013). As such, the professional standards reflecting the core values that inhere the nursing profession, represent the specific criteria deployed by the CLPNBC to measure and assess LPN practice, and clarify what the nursing profession expects of licensed practical nurses. The four professional standards for LPNs all call for culturally-competent and sensitive care, including competency-based practice, ethical practice which takes into account cultural idiosyncrasies, and the provision of patient-centered services.

Nurses must fully explain any and all healthcare jargon to patients who do not speak English as their first language. For example, a program for breast cancer awareness for American immigrants showed that some women felt too shy to speak up that they did not understand particular terms. Some of those women assumed that Medicaid and Medicare were types of cancer. A large portion of individuals who come from different cultures seek panaceas from traditional healers, even though such remedies can be harmful or may be pernicious when interacting with western medicine. Nurses thus must ask their patients about alternative to healing that they are deploying. One example of a nurse deploying cultural sensitivity if when they show an understanding of the roles of women and men in the patient’s culture or society. In some cultures, the oldest male in the family is the ultimate decision-maker for his entire family, even as it pertains to decisions related to treatment. Ultimately, it is of paramount importance that the nurse gains the trust of the patient for a more robust nurse-patient relationship.

References

Bjarnason, D., Mick, J., Thompson, J.A., & Cloyd, E. (2009). Perspectives on transcultural care. Nurses Clinicals pf North America, 44(4),495-503.

Callister, L.C. (2005). What as the literature taught us about culturally competent care of women and children. MCN American Journal of Child Nursing, 30(6), 380-388.

Canadian Council for Practical Nurse Regulators. (2013). Entry-to-practice competencies for licensed practical nurses. College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC. Retrieved from https://www.clpnbc.org/Documents/Practice-Support-Documents/Entry-to-Practice-Competencies-(EPTC)-LPNs.aspx

Kanchana, M.N., & Sangamesh, N. (2016). Transcultural nursing: Importance in nursing practice. International Journal of Nursing Education, 8(1), 135-138. doi:10.5958/0974-9357.2016.00024.6

Lowe, J. & Archibald, C. (2009). Cultural diversity: The intention of nursing. Nursing Forum, 44(1), 11-18.

Maier-Lorentz, M.M. (2008). Transcultural nursing: Its importance in nursing practice. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 15(1), 37-43.

Purnell, L. (1998). Transcultural health care: A culturally competent approach. Philadelphia: E.A. Davis Company.