The Culture of the Patient, Essay Example

In nursing, it is essential to take the culture of the patient into consideration when during the examination and interview processes. Culturally competent care is the umbrella term for racial, ethnic, and language considerations. Ultimately, these factors can provide certain barriers to healthcare or alterations in the needs of the patient, and nurses need to understand what these factors are to the best of their ability because it allows them to best treat the patient.

Specifically, cultural competence is defined as, “a set of behaviors, attitudes, and skills that enables nurses to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (Office of Minority Health, n.d.). These behaviors, attitudes, and skills require at least a basic understanding of diverse cultures so the nurse knows how to interact with patients and is aware of the standard of care that patient’s expect according to their own culture and beliefs. An interesting example of this situation has occurred with Middle Eastern families who speak a different language, such as Iranians. In this culture, the husband is exclusively responsible for making decisions for the family, which extends to medical benefits. There was a specific case in which the husband decided he would be a translator for the doctor, who asked his wife what she would like to do about her illness. The husband claimed that she didn’t want any treatment, although doctors later learned that he was not correctly translating her wishes because he wanted to remain in control. This example demonstrates that while it’s necessary to respect the individual culture of the patient, patient care comes first and foremost and it is necessary to both understand and weigh the balance of these two factors so that nurses can offer the best available care to these individuals. Interestingly, this case also impacted minority care in the sense that may hospitals and practitioners now subscribe to a phone translation service in which a certified translator is responsible for conveying messages between the patient and healthcare professional.

References

Office of Minority Health. (n.d.). Why Culturally Competent Care? Retrieved from             https://ccnm.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/