Defining Cultural Competence in Nursing
Culturally competent nursing care is an approach that acknowledges and respects the values, beliefs, and practices of patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. A culturally competent nurse possesses several key qualities.
Awareness
Nurses should be aware of their own cultural biases and prejudices. They must recognize how these might affect patient interactions and deliberately strive to prevent them from interfering with care.
Knowledge
Culturally competent nurses have a broad knowledge base about cultural practices and worldviews. They understand how cultural factors can influence health behaviors, outcomes, and interactions with the healthcare system.
Skills
Nurses must be skilled in assessing patients’ cultural needs and adjusting care plans accordingly. This includes practical communication skills that allow overcoming language barriers and understanding patients in their cultural context.
Attitudes
Culturally competent nurses demonstrate openness, flexibility, and respect for cultural diversity. They are willing to learn from their patients and adapt their practices to meet patients’ cultural health needs.
Advocacy
Nurses must advocate for their patients’ cultural beliefs and practices, ensuring that the healthcare environment is inclusive and accommodates patients’ cultural needs.
A Personal Reflection: A Situation of Cultural Competence in My Nursing Practice
An example from my nursing practice where cultural competence played a crucial role involved a patient from the Hmong community, a Southeast Asian ethnic group with distinct cultural practices and beliefs. The patient, a middle-aged woman, was admitted for diabetes management. The Hmong culture places a strong emphasis on the balance of spiritual and physical health, and this patient believed that her illness was the result of a spiritual imbalance caused by offending ancestral spirits (Douglas et al., 2018).
Initially, the healthcare team was focused solely on managing her diabetes medically without considering her cultural beliefs. This resulted in a lack of trust and cooperation from the patient, who was reluctant to follow the prescribed treatment plan. Recognizing this gap, I took the initiative to learn more about Hmong cultural beliefs related to health and healing. I also engaged the services of a Hmong community health worker who could serve as a cultural broker.
Together with the community health worker, we held a family meeting to discuss the patient’s beliefs and concerns. We learned that the patient and her family wanted to perform a traditional healing ceremony in the hospital to restore spiritual balance. By advocating for the patient’s cultural needs, we arranged a small, safe ceremony in a private space within the hospital.
This act of cultural competence significantly improved the patient’s engagement with her care. She felt respected and understood, which, in turn, made her more receptive to the medical treatment. Her compliance with the diabetes management plan improved, and she felt comfortable discussing her health concerns with the team (Kersey-Matusiak, 2018). This experience highlighted the importance of integrating cultural competence into nursing care to ensure that all patients receive respectful and effective treatment.
On the other hand, I have also witnessed situations where cultural competence was lacking. For example, a Muslim patient was not given meal options that adhered to halal dietary restrictions, which caused him to skip meals and become malnourished. In this instance, a lack of awareness and accommodation of the patient’s religious dietary requirements led to inadequate care and compromised his health (Andrews et al., 2019).
These experiences underscore the impact that cultural competence can have on patient care. By embracing cultural differences and incorporating them into the healthcare plan, nurses can improve patient outcomes, foster trust, and provide holistic care that addresses physical and cultural needs.
References
Andrews, M., Boyle, J. S., & Collins, J. (2019). Transcultural concepts in nursing care. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Douglas, M., Pacquiao, D., & Purnell, L. (2018). Global Applications of Culturally Competent Health Care: Guidelines for Practice. Springer.
Kersey-Matusiak, G., PhD RN. (2018). Delivering Culturally Competent Nursing Care, Second edition: Working with Diverse and Vulnerable Populations. Springer Publishing Company.