Cultural Competence: Registered Nurse Responsibility Paper
Using APA format, write a six (6) to ten (10) page paper (excludes cover and reference page) that examines culturally sensitive nursing care. The paper consists of two (2) parts and must be submitted by the close of week six (6). A minimum of three (3) current professional references must be provided. Current references include professional publications and valid websites dated within five (5) years. Additionally, a textbook that is no more than one (1) edition old may be used. Part 1 – Introduction Address the following: 1.Using your own words, define culturally competent care. 2.List and explain four (4) guidelines the registered professional nurse may use to enhance their ability to provide culturally competent care. 3.How does the registered professional nurse incorporate the guidelines (noted in #2) into the provision of culturally competent patient centered care in different care settings (hospital and the community)? 4.Explain why it is important for the RN to accommodate the cultural needs of patients. How would the registered professional nurse be able to evaluate if the cultural needs have been met? 5.Must cultural practices be accommodated in all aspects of health care? Provide specific examples and provide a rationale for each example. Part 2- Demonstrating Culturally Competent Nursing Care Select one of the following cultures then answer the questions listed below. Asian Native American Hispanic 1.What are the cultural factors, for the selected culture, that affect nursing care for patients with chronic illness, sensory impairment and at the end of life? 2.Provide examples of nursing cultural considerations (nursing interventions) the RN would perform for patients experiencing a chronic illness, a sensory impairment, and at the end of life. Includes the different age groups (developmental levels). Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Use a 12 font size, double space your work and use APA format for citations, references, and overall format. Assistance with APA citations and references is available through the free resource Citation Machine™. Assistance with APA format, grammar, and avoiding plagiarism is available for free through the Excelsior College Online Writing Lab (OWL). Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you submit your assignment. You are required to submit your paper to Turnitin (a plagiarism prevention service) prior to submitting the paper in the course submission area for grading. Access is provided by email to the email address on record in your MyExcelsior account during week 2 of the term. Once you submit your paper to Turnitin check your inbox in Turnitin for the results. After viewing your originality report correct the areas of your paper that warrant attention. You can re-submit your paper to Turnitin after 24-hours and continue to re-submit until the results are acceptable. Acceptable ranges include a cumulative total of less than 15% for your entire paper, and no particular area greater than 2% (excluding direct quotes and/or references).
Culturally Competent Care
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Introduction
Cultural competence care is basically borrowed from the aspects of cultural competence in any other work or personal environment. Cultural competence refers to the aspect of developing awareness of the personal existence, thought, sensation as well as the environment, without letting this knowledge have any form of influence on other people’s backgrounds, thoughts and opinions (Murphy, 2011). This means that one has to respect the cultural aspects of those around them, by accepting and appreciating their differences without any form of prejudice. When this element of cultural awareness is introduced in the nursing field, cultural competence care thus can be said to refer to ability of the registered nurses to offer highly specialized care, with complete knowledge and appreciation of the patients cultural beliefs and attitudes in mind, with respect to disease, pain, healing, diet, religion, communication and death among others (Douglas et al., 2014).
In the current globalised nature of the world, the registered nurses are always faced with new challenges as they meet and interact with patients from differing backgrounds. The most important aspect of the health care delivery that is centered on the patient is that the nurses get to respect the decision of the patient (Douglas et al., 2011). This aspect is due to the fact that, the patients are supposed to be incorporated in every other decision that the nurses and the other medical teams have to make over the life and treatment of the patient. With close reference to the aspect of cultural differences, there are patient that will be particularly cautious of their cultural believes and in most of the cases will want these beliefs to be respected and maintained at all times. As mentioned earlier, these beliefs may range from, diets, clothing, gender of the attendant, religious observations to matters relating to pain, healing and death (Peterson-Iyer, 2014). As such the nurse has to work with the patient and the family to come to an understanding and agreement on the best way forward. In an example, it is common for registered nurses to be faced with patients do not want to be attended by nurses of the opposite sex. It is important that the nurses understand that this is not the patient way of saying that they do not need help. They just want help that coincides with their cultural beliefs, which they are entitled to at all time (Murphy, 2011).
Guidelines for Registered Nurses
For the registered nurses to be in a position to offer the best care on the ground of cultural competence there are a few guidelines that can help them achieve their goals with much ease. It is important, that guidelines are implemented across the board, such that all the nurses from the different sections integrate them into their practices (Douglas et al., 2014). This way there will be uniformity in the provision of care among all the nurses and thus streamline the nursing practice culture in the health care facility involved.
Personal Reflection
For the nurses to understand the beliefs of the patient hat come their way, they would have to first evaluate their own beliefs. It is important that all the nurses, reflect on their values, beliefs and their cultural heritage (Murphy, 2011). This way the nurses can create the same level of self awareness that the patient have. This is the first step on the journey to understanding the essence of having the different beliefs and values. Much like the nurses have their own preferences that are culturally related, the patients too have the same and would want to be understood and respected not judged on these grounds (Peterson-Iyer, 2014).
Gaining Knowledge of the Cultures
Ideally this means that the nurses should take their time to gain understanding of the cultures of the patients that they are attending. The registered nurses should take keen interest in learning the traditions, perspective, values, family systems and practices among other culturally relevant material of the patient (Douglas et al., 2011). Different patient will have different beliefs that they observe and it is important for the nurses to stay ahead of the curve, by familiarizing themselves with the different cultures around them.
Involve the Patient
Patient empowerment and advocacy is one of the crucial pillars of any health care practices that put the patients at the center of their practices (Douglas et al., 2014). When treating the patients, registered nurses should make sure that they include the patient, family and friends in the decision making circle (Murphy, 2011). Making health decisions is crucial to the patient and it has to be done in manner that, the patient is actually involved in the process.
Communicating Cross-Culturally
The backbone of any form relationship lie with the ability to communicate efficiently with the persons interacts with. In this case, it is very crucial that the registered nurses learn how to communicate with the patients. Communication is not limited to the verbal utterances but also spreads to the ability to interpreted nonverbal language cues (Murphy, 2011). This is very crucial as indicates that the nurse actually respects and dignifies the patients. Miscommunication much like in the general conversation can breed a lot of controversy and thus it is important, that either side takes a keen look at their message and their recipients’ response before making a rushed judgment.
Incorporating culturally competent care in nursing practices
Self awareness is the initial step, that every other registered nurse should take before trying to understand their patients. By becoming self awareness, it is much easier for the nurses to understand the beliefs and the values that the patients holds dear (Peterson-Iyer, 2014). To integrate this aspect in their practices, registered nurses need to get in touch with their inner values and reflect on them, before making any assumption on the part of the patient. By doing this the nurses will be in a position to challenge their assumptions and personal believes as they dispense personal practices and professional ones. It is also important to note that this is a practice that should start the student level and go into the professional levels.
Building on the cultural knowledge, go along way into the aspect of understanding the patients and their needs. Registered nurses should never make assumptions and generalize the patients and their beliefs. Different patient will have different sets of beliefs and it crucial to understand the specific details, creating the differences. Nurses should use their knowledge of the cultural differences to understand the impacts they will have on values, behavior and attitudes of the patient. They will also use this knowledge to establish the impact they will have on the health care policies and the resources at the hospital (Douglas et al., 2014).
At the center of the cultural awareness and health care provision is the ability of the nurses to communicate with the patients and the other medical team members. One of the basic aspects of integrating proper communication skills in the work, registered nurses should understand the essence of quality communication (Douglas et al., 2011). This means that they need to value the basic rules of communication. At the same time they also need to have a wealth of understanding with reference to the verbal and nonverbal communication elements. It is advisable that the nurses try and pick up some of the common phrases used by the patient’s culture. In an example, when a nurse asks their patient whether they are having any pain, in the patient’s language, there is the element of the patient feeling appreciated. While it may be taken as a light gesture, it is actually very strong and creates a strong between the patient and the nurse (Murphy, 2011).
The idea of having patient centered care that is culturally nourished cannot materialize if the patient...