Culturally competent nursing care entails considering an individual patient’s cultural and social background. According to The Chicago School (2020), intercultural competence is based on the premise that effective healthcare must be suited to each patient’s needs, principles, beliefs, and language. Culturally competent care involves acknowledging and adjusting to the patient’s culture, recognizing what is important and meaningful to them, and using communication techniques suitable for the patient’s culture and language (Curtis et al., 2019). It also includes providing culturally sensitive resources and services, such as interpreting services and culturally appropriate medical treatments. The Standards of Practice for Culturally Competent Nursing Care provide nurses with a framework to ensure that they provide culturally competent and culturally sensitive care. Examples of these standards include:
- Social Justice: This standard recognizes the inherent value and worth of every individual in healthcare and the need to provide equitable care to everyone regardless of their culture, religion, background, or identity. Social justice puts into practice client-centered care that considers each person’s unique needs (Constantinou et al., 2020). For example, I have worked with clients from various cultures, including those with diverse religious beliefs. In each of these cases, I have actively sought to understand and respect the individual’s beliefs and values while also providing evidence-based care that meets the needs of each client. By applying social justice, every patient receives appropriate care tailored to their unique needs.
- Critical reflection: Through critical reflection, nurses examine their values, beliefs, and assumptions, identify areas of potential misunderstanding in interactions with culturally diverse clients, and how their personal views may affect how they provide care. Critical reflection helps nurses recognize and address their biases while also developing an awareness of delivering culturally appropriate care (Constantinou et al., 2020). An example of critical thinking in my experiences would be during my interactions with a patient of a different cultural background. I assumed the patient would not be receptive to certain approaches and interventions due to her cultural background. After reflecting on this, it became clear that assumptions were being made based on my beliefs and that an open mind should be kept when approaching the patient, taking into account potential cultural differences that may influence their care.
- Knowledge of Cultures: A good understanding of cultures is the most important part of delivering culturally competent care. Nurses should strive to understand and appreciate their patients’ cultural norms, values, communication styles, and beliefs to provide appropriate and effective care (Campinha-Bacote, 2018). For example, I have interacted with patients from cultures with conservative views on mental health and may not be comfortable discussing their mental health issues. As a nurse, it is important to be aware of these cultural differences to provide the best possible care to the patient.
- Evidence-Based Practice and Research (EBP): As a standard practice that guides the provision of culturally aware and responsive nursing care, Evidence-Based Practice and Research integrates the best available evidence from current research and clinical experience to determine the most appropriate approach in a given situation. It emphasizes the importance of using evidence-based practices and interventions tailored to the specific needs of individuals and populations to provide the most effective care. During my clinical practice, I implemented this guideline when I provided evidence-based psychotherapy to a patient with a history of depression. This patient had difficulty managing his emotions and often experienced guilt, shame, and worthlessness. I used a combination of cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapies to help him identify and modify his negative thoughts and behaviors while exploring and understanding his cultural context and beliefs. This process enabled the patient to gain insight into his thoughts and behaviors and make meaningful changes.
These guidelines offer a framework for nurses when delivering appropriate care to patients of diverse ethnic groups. These standards give nurses an understanding of patients’ ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds, cultural awareness in patient care, and strategies for delivering competent nursing care. The standards also provide resources to help nurses better understand their patients’ racial or religious backgrounds and how to provide appropriate patient care.
References
Campinha-Bacote, J. (2018). Cultural compatibility: A paradigm shift in the cultural competence versus cultural humility debate—Part I. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(1). Web.
Curtis, E., Jones, R., Tipene-Leach, D., Walker, C., Loring, B., Paine, S.-J., & Reid, P. (2019). Why cultural safety rather than cultural competency is required to achieve health equity: a literature review and recommended definition. International Journal for Equity in Health, 18(1), 1–17. Web.
The Chicago School. (2020). The importance of cultural competence in nursing. Insight Digital Magazine. Web.