Paper Example on the Nursing Profession Demands

Introduction

The nursing profession demands that nurses provide care to all clients without discrimination of color, religion, or personal preferences. Cultural competencies are vital components of nursing services. Cultural competence is the ability of an individual to interact with diverse people from many cultures (Munoz et al. 2009). The global economy has become more integrated, and the number of patients in hospitals from different cultural backgrounds, sharing diverse health attributes have been on the rise. Cultural competence is thus highly recommended in healthcare professionals, especially nurses, who are the biggest group of personnel in healthcare teams. This paper will aim to discuss key factors that influence culturally competent practice and explore strategies for improving the care provided to patients from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Cultural competence was initially described as a combination of harmonious behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge in professionals that promotes a productive working environment when faced with cross-cultural circumstances (Cai 2016). According to some authors, cultural competence is the ability of nurses to give respectful services that are effective, respectful, and legitimate to people while understanding their diversities (Cai 2016). This skill requires a nurse to engage taught knowledge on cultural competence and the awareness to utilize this knowledge in appropriate situations that address health care issues experienced by populations that are culturally diverse. This ability enables a nurse to identify every patient's different cultural background. All clients are, therefore, treated as unique, thus achieving services that are client-centered and satisfactory (Cai 2016).

The process of cultural competence is a lifelong educative journey that one learns through regular encounters with patients from diverse backgrounds during practice (Cai 2016). Four attributes define cultural competence, and they should be practiced by nurses when providing health care services. These attributes include cultural sensitivity, cultural awareness, cultural skill, and cultural knowledge (Shen 2015).

Cultural Sensitivity

This refers to a nurse's respect, comfort, and appreciation of the cultural diversity of patients. Individuals cannot be assumed to share similar cultures, and so cultural diversity is unavoidable (Shen 2015). When this diversity is appreciated, there is more probability of achieving a mutual learning process for progress (Shen 2015). Nurses should also avoid making assumptions that one's culture is superior to another's beliefs. Respecting that there are cultural differences is always a key ingredient in providing services that are satisfactory and genuine. Both respect and appreciation are based on the ability of the nurse to feel comfortable interacting with different cultures.

Cultural Awareness

Cultural awareness is the consciousness of an individual's reaction to different people who share diverse beliefs, values, and norms (Shen 2015). Cultural resemblances and distinctions among patients should be identified, and the influence that culture plays in health should be treasured during the provision of nursing care. Nurses are better placed to understand the cultural beliefs and practices of their clients if they are aware of their personal cultural beliefs and values (Shen 2015).

Cultural Skill

This is the ability of a nurse to do a cultural assessment in the hope of collecting essential data on a patient`s presenting health complaint as well as the ability to efficiently use this data in the provision of care in a manner that is culturally sensitive (Shen 2015). Effective communication guarantees success in this process, including nonverbal and verbal language, understandable by people from different cultures.

Cultural Knowledge

Cultural knowledge is when a nurse attains a substantial educational base on the diverse cultural groups to get a better understanding of the distinct values, behaviors, and characteristics in patients. Useful knowledge involves having data on the dos and don'ts when interacting with patients from diverse backgrounds (Shen 2015). When a nurse has these principles' chances are that there will be few instances of unintentional cultural offenses and trust that can develop between the client and the nurse.

Challenges Influencing Culturally Competent Care

People have been receptive to cross-cultural education, especially in healthcare systems. However, there has been limited evidence of the different models' effectiveness in reducing cultural disparities (Betancourt et al. 2014). Some have reported temporary improvements, particularly in nurses' attitudes and clients' experience after the implementation of cultural models (Betancourt et al. 2014). The impact of these interventions on treatment outcomes has been neglected. Findings from the scarce data obtained revealed that a significant portion of nurses had reported that they had not received any form of cultural diversity training in their workplaces (Betancourt et al. 2014). Nurses who reported having received cultural diversity training stated that they learned about the customs and norms of different cultural groups, which is in line with the theme of cultural awareness.

Another challenge encountered was the language and communication hurdles. There are around 37 million people in the US who speak other languages apart from English, and 48% of this population reported that they could not communicate in English efficiently (Aichhorn & Puck 2017). This presents a problem when these people seek medical services since barriers in language have an effect on the quality and amount of health care services provided. Some ethnic groups are also more likely not to seek medical help compared to other groups that can communicate effectively in English. Problems in language and communication can also lead to patients being dissatisfied, poor understanding and adherence to treatment regimens, and poor quality of care provided (Shepherd et al. 2019). It has been reported that Spanish speaking Latinos are more likely to be less satisfied with the care provided in hospitals and are also more prone to report of other issues related to healthcare compared to English speakers (Shepherd et al. 2019). The chosen method of interpretation services is, therefore, a crucial factor in determining patient satisfaction. Lacking interpreter services in a hospital setting has been identified as a common challenge in cross-culture service provision (Shepherd et al. 2019). Organizations should offer cultural training to their staff members since organizations that do this are perceived as being attentive and respectful to the cultural diversities of their clients.

Factors That Influence Cultural Competence

A nurse`s cultural competence influences the nurse's ability to provide essential healthcare services to people from diverse cultural backgrounds (Shen 2015). A significant factor that makes a massive contribution to cultural competence is empathy. Personally, empathy strengthens cultural competence as it is described as a predictor of successful cultural incorporation. Empathy is considered an essential factor in cultural competence, which is shown through expressing care and appropriate attitude and putting into consideration a patient's personal experiences (Suk et al. 2018). A nurse should be able to practice empathy as it enables one to comprehend patients` situations and feelings while also aiding in communication. A nurses` careful and respectful understanding of clients with diverse cultural backgrounds is a critical prerequisite in providing care that is culturally competent (Suk et al. 2018). Cultural competency is thus associated with the ability of the nurse to show empathy. Empathy permits nurses to make interactions that are based on mutual respect and by accepting that people live alternative lifestyles. Nurse with acceptable levels of cultural competence can utilize their interpersonal communication and relationship skills to work adequately in cross-cultural instances. Another personal attribute that may affect cultural competence is empowerment. Empowerment may have a positive effect on improving cognitive resources in a nurse and also boosting confidence by autonomy (Suk et al 2018). When someone promotes their perception of power, there is increased motivation, and the nurse can give competent care as well as empowering other people.

There are also Organizational factors that influence providing culturally competent care. Among them is patient-centered care interventions that promote individualist care (Butler et al. 2016). Some of these interventions make it necessary for health care providers to make an effort in viewing people with their characteristics rather than their group characteristics (Butler et al. 2016). Some of these interventions can occur at the system level, making a system that advocates for the provision of care universally. Other organizational factors include the inclusion of cultural competence interventions, which improves health care providers' ability to give health-related services to people that are different from the provider (Butler et al. 2016). The targeted providers, in this case, can include doctors, nurses, and staff that come into regular contact with patients.

Campinha-Bacote Model

Nurses should have enough knowledge of different cultural customs and cultural backgrounds to perform patient assessments that are holistic. When providing proper care, there needs to be the completion of an assessment procedure mainly when the patient is from a different culture (Campinha-Bacote 2011). When high-quality care is provided, the patient's confidence and comfort in health care systems are boosted while at the same time, patient satisfaction is also promoted. The assessment process adopted should be systematic, comprehensive, and accurate and should help nurses in coming up with conclusive evidence on proper patient interventions. There are different models developed by researchers to help them overcome these challenges when dealing with a patient from diverse cultural backgrounds. The chosen model for discussion is the Campinha-Bacote model that was designed to promote care that is culturally competent and culturally appropriate.

This model was developed in 1998 and revised in 2002, and it views cultural competence as a process rather than a consequence introduced as a result of other factors (Campinha-Bacote 2011). The model proposes that there are five components involved in the provision of care that is culturally competent. The initial step is included with cultural awareness, whereby nurses knowingly acknowledge their own respective cultures and ethics, which help them avoid bias towards different cultures. The next component is cultural skill, which is known as the ability to get viable information from a patient while utilizing conduct that is culturally appropriate. The next component is cultural knowledge, where nurses have to open their eyes to comprehend the differences in cultures and that these differences play a role in patients' attitudes towards sickness and health....