Standards of Practice for Culturally Competent Nursing Care, Essay Example

Introduction

The Transcultural Nursing Society provides an important framework towards the development of cultural diversity and awareness within the spectrum of nursing practice (2014). Nurses must be effectively prepared to manage working with patients and colleagues from a variety of culturally diverse backgrounds and disciplines. Founded by theorist Madeline Leininger, the organization aims to improve nursing care and treatment for all patients through its attention and focus on a culturally competent approach to nursing that will have a positive and meaningful impact on patients (TCNS, 2014). This strategy enables nurses to recognize that culturally competent care is essential to the successfully delivery of high quality nursing care throughout the world (TCNS, 2014).

Analysis

Due to the complexities of culturally competent care, it is necessary to develop practice standards that will accommodate these concerns and to adapt to patients from a variety of cultures without difficulty (Douglas et.al, 2011). Nurses must not only possess the education that is required to accomplish culturally competent care, but they must also be able to identify disparities and other factors that may contribute to inequality in patient care on many levels (Like, 2011). In accordance with Campbell et.al (2011), education and training in cultural competency is essential in order to work with a diverse group of patients and to recognize the value of developing frameworks that will guide patients in obtaining high quality care at all times. This practice is likely to improve patient satisfaction and support cultural identities and core values more effectively when nurses and other healthcare providers are able to communicate well with patients and convey the importance of quality across all healthcare environments (Campbell et.al, 2011).

Perhaps most important to the discussion is the benefit provided to nurses through organizations such as the Transcultural Nursing Society, whereby they are given a focus and a framework with which to express important ideals and expectations regarding patient care and treatment that all nurses must learn. This practice engages nurses in the development of new approaches to improve the lives of their patients, one step at a time. The organization is in a position to educate nurses who must be skilled in working with patients across different cultures and working on communicating with these patients to meet their needs as best as possible. Therefore, advanced education in this area may provide a basis for improving outcomes for patients and in recognizing the importance of cultures promotes significant improvements in quality of care for these patients.

Conclusion

Due to the challenging need to improve nurse-based education regarding cultural competency, the Transcultural Nursing Society’s recognition of this field as an area of specialty requires nurses to understand that cultural values, norms, and differences are a part of the practice setting and must be acquired through education and training. This process is ongoing throughout the nursing career and is designed to engage nurses in the practice of communicating with patients and sharing in their cultural values. Nurses who gain certification in this field are likely to be prepared to work with patients from all over the world and to understand how to bets provide patients with culturally competent care that will be aligned with cultural norms and expectations. For nurses, certification in this area will encourage them to work with patients from throughout the world with a greater focus on patient health and wellbeing with advanced approaches to addressing patient customs, beliefs, values, and other factors that have an impact on patient health.

References

Campbell, A., Sullivan, M., Sherman, R., & Magee, W. P. (2011). The medical mission and modern cultural competency training. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 212(1), 124-129.

Douglas, M. K., Pierce, J. U., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao, D., Callister, L. C., Hattar-Pollara, M., … & Purnell, L. (2011). Standards of practice for culturally competent nursing care: 2011 update. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 22(4), 317.

Like, R. C. (2011). Educating clinicians about cultural competence and disparities in health and health care. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 31(3), 196-206.

Transcultural Nursing Society (2014). Home page. Retrieved from http://www.tcns.org/