Culturally Competent Healthcare - A Necessity to Protect Patient Wellbeing - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the modern nursing system, it has become a norm where patients are handed off to other practitioners via transition practices. Each day various patients visit healthcare professionals with either linguistically or cultural differences. Situations, where the healthcare professionals and patients aren't conversant in terms of culture and language, present a danger to the well-being of the patient (Soo-Hoon et al, 2016). Therefore, the need for professionals to be culturally competent has risen as a result. This is a way to ensure that the different patients receive the same amounts and quality of healthcare services. Healthcare professionals that are competent in ensuring equality for all patients have an understanding of how cultural knowledge and beliefs affect the health of a patient as well as the effect of such beliefs on the delivery of quality healthcare.

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For the provision of quality healthcare, there requires a level of understanding between the patient and doctor. In cases where the patient and doctor have different culture, lack of understanding becomes a major issue affecting the delivery of healthcare. These worsens where the healthcare professionals do not appreciate the difference in culture presented by a patient (Soo-Hoon et al, 2016). If the patient and the healthcare provider do not culturally understand each other, the doctor may feel well unprepared to handle such cases. However, in cases where the doctor is open-minded to various socio-cultural beliefs of health, it becomes easier to communicate with patients. Over the past ten years, it has become evident that there is a need for better cultural competence in healthcare workers. Training programs as well as educational interventions have been rolled out to ensure healthcare professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with dynamic sociocultural issues in patients.

Interventions meant to prepare healthcare professionals for different cultures have consequently made them prepared in terms of knowledge, attitude, and behavior towards different cultures. However, enough hasn't been done to promote the training of healthcare professionals for culturally demanding situations. Nursing leadership is identified as an uphill process. A good nurse leader should make available collaboration, support, effective communication, and motivation to the patients. This helps in ensuring there is a positive outcome from the patients. Needless to say, leaders lead by example. Therefore, nurse leaders should be an example to other nurses in terms of empowerment and motivation.

The relationship between a nurse and patient is critical especially in patients with chronic cases such as cancer. Nevertheless, other nurses need to embrace a positive patient-nurse relationship for good patient outcomes. With a positive patient-nurse relationship, the patient knows that someone cares about their health care since the nurses have to invest time to build up a relationship (Murphy et al, 2009). Whenever a nurse or healthcare professional shows a good relationship with a patient, chances are the patient become more aware of their health status and do not fear to approach the nurses for any healthcare follow up. This contributes to better outcomes concerning a patient's health status. According to the National Institutes of Health, a good relationship between a patient and nurse not only brings about good patient care but also quickens the patient's recovery time (Murphy et al, 2009).

Community health nurses are a good way of providing healthcare to groups, individuals, or families who do not necessarily need to visit the hospitals. For nurses to operate outside the hospital walls, they require skills in critical thinking and good clinical skills. The community-nurse relationship showcases an egalitarian behavior rather than authoritarian towards the patient. Patients at home have a wide range of behavior since they can choose to follow medication schedules, recommended diets and exercise routines, or simply avoid the same. By adapting and teaching a healthcare plan to a single patient, the nurse can help the patients to have a better understanding of the importance of following medical recommendations for good health. A good example of a community-nurse relationship is the screening of blood pressure at various malls.

Since community healthcare nurses visit patients at their homes, they require to showcase adaptations to the various situations and lifestyles of the patient (Mianda & Voce, 2018). Most importantly, they should not show any signs of being judgmental. Providing healthcare to patients at home allows for the treatment of both potential health systems and already existing health problems. This way, a wide type and setting of patients are well served through home healthcare, case management, and community-oriented nursing. As a leader in nursing, the main aim is to reach and care for as many patients as possible (Mianda & Voce, 2018). This may not be all possible with patients visiting the hospital given that many healthcare centers witness long queues and some patients may be too ill to travel. Therefore, nurse leaders have to come up with initiatives that ensure patients receive the maximum care as possible. This can mainly be achieved through the community-nurse relationship rather than individual-nurse relationship making the former the main objective for nursing leadership.

The Institute of Medicine report thoroughly examines the roles, education, and responsibility of healthcare providers and how they should change to fit the requirements of a constantly changing population as well as respond to the changing healthcare system. Also, recommendations provided center on the relationship between the preparedness of the healthcare workers for varied health needs. The IOM report aims to highlight necessary changes to nursing education to cope with changing healthcare demands. Therefore, there are foundational competencies outlined for nurses regardless of their specialty.

I: Scientific underpinnings for practice.

A good understanding of the nursing theory is basic if at all advanced nursing practice is to be witnessed. That is why there has been an expansion in the nursing discipline especially in theories for middle-range healthcare providers. The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is essential for graduates to relate nursing science with biophysical, analytical, organization, and psychological sciences. Besides, the role of scientific concepts in enhancing and evaluating the provision of healthcare and recovery of patients is emphasized.

II: Organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement.

After graduating through the DNP, graduates are presented with an opportunity to add to the nursing science. They can achieve this via translation, evaluation, and dissemination of conducted research into practice. Skills required to do so are designing interventions based on evidence, developing clinical guidelines, and evaluation of practice results.

III: Clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice.

In the modern health care where complex issues are constantly witnessed, it's essential to equip DNP healthcare workers with organizational leadership skills as well as challenge them to think at a systems level. This essential emphasizes the need for patient safety and accountability of quality care. Equipping graduates with leadership skills enable them to implement wide changes in the way they deliver healthcare.

IV: Information systems/ technology and patient care technology.

DNP graduates are equipped to handle information and patient care technologies to assist in making clinical decisions as well as supporting practice leadership. In the modern era, technology is at the forefront in the provision of quality healthcare to patients. Understanding of health technology enables DNP graduates to participate in improving healthcare technology.

V: Health care policy for advocacy in healthcare.

DNP clinicians should be equipped to identify problems in healthcare delivery and come up with remedies through the proper legislative channels. This helps them to be active in coming up with healthcare policies. The aim of this essential is to analyze health policies and voicing the interest of nurses as well as other social justices.

VI: Inter-professional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes.

To achieve the safety and prosperity of all patients, the IOM advocates for team-based care. DNP clinicians are, therefore, enabled to collaborate with other professionals to face complex challenges. DNP clinicians are at the forefront in the formulation and implementation of scholarly projects and practice models.

VII: Clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation's health.

A DNP graduate degree not only covers risk reduction and health promotion but also prepares clinicians for interpretation and evaluation of epidemics to improving the community and individual health. Clinicians also are equipped with skills necessary for identifying cultural impacts that are due to population health.

VIII: Advanced nursing practice.

A doctor of nursing practice focuses on the best patient outcome and can achieve this via an advanced degree of systems thinking, delivery of healthcare based on evidence, and clinical judgment. The aim of this essential is mentoring nurses, guiding patients in complex situations, and carrying out a needs assessment.

For the implementation of healthcare systems to succeed, there is a need for strong leadership (Kershaw, 2012). The nursing profession involves leaders not only in the boardrooms or offices but also at the patient bedside. The nurses have to operate with other professionals and leaders in the provision of high-quality healthcare. Leaders in healthcare systems have to deal with complex problems that can't be solved through a particular solution, hence they have to mutually collaborate with other professionals (Kershaw, 2012). Such a working relationship has proven to result in positive patient outcomes, reduced staff turnover, and a decline in medical errors. To play a role in the recovery of patients, nurses require to possess strong leadership across all settings and at every level. This means that sometimes nurses have to step into an advocate role.

References

Kershaw, B. (2012). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Nursing Management (through 2013), 18(9), 10.

Murphy, J., Quillinan, B., & Carolan, M. (2009). Role of clinical nurse leadership in improving patient care. Nursing Management (through 2013), 16(8), 26-8.

Mianda, S., & Voce, A. (2018). Developing and evaluating clinical leadership interventions for frontline healthcare providers: A review of the literature. BMC Health Services Research, 18

Soo-Hoon, L., Phan, P. H., Dorman, T., Weaver, S. J., & Pronovost, P. J. (2016). Handoffs, safety culture, and practices: Evidence from the hospital survey on patient safety culture. BMC Health Services Research, 16