Having empathy and understanding are very important
characteristics of the nursing profession. To give proper care to a
patient, one must consider the patient's situation not only in terms of
health and the experience of pain but also in terms of age, religion,
race and culture. Empathy is often described as "putting yourself in the
other person's shoes." A lot of times, in your urbane scrubs free
shipping you will be treating and caring for patients that have a
starkly different culture than your own. Because of the increasing
ethnic and cultural diversity of society, it is important to understand
the differences and similarities of cultures so that you can give
adequate care that is culturally congruent to the patient's own.
Adopting a Method for Cultural Understanding
Cultural
differences can cause emotional distress among patients and healthcare
givers or providers. Effective communication is important in treating
patients and promoting their fast recovery. However, when two people of
different cultures communicate, sometimes a lot of misunderstandings
occur because of the difference in backgrounds, experiences, mannerisms,
assumptions, and expectations. Caring for people from diverse cultural
background can involve a lot of complexities. As a nurse, you need to
develop approaches for recognizing and respecting the culture of
patients from different cultures. Transcultural nursing is one such
approach that you can adopt.
What is Transcultural Nursing?
Transcultural
nursing is a method and practice that focuses on the similarities and
differences of culture in terms of health, care, and illness based on
the person's beliefs, cultural values, and practices, and using this
knowledge to provide cultural specific nursing care to people. It
promotes understanding instead of prejudice.
How to develop cultural understanding and awareness
To
develop cultural understanding, you need to understand your own world
view and that of your patient. At all costs, you should avoid
stereotyping. To have a deeper understanding of diverse cultures, you
need to inform yourself through education and research. A great way is
to read about different religions, cultures, customs, and traditions.
You have to develop an appreciation for the richness of the cultures of
the world, what distinguishes Asian culture from European culture to
African culture and American culture. It helps to read history as well
as educate yourself about societal and biological evolution to
understand how we are all interconnected and how we all became
"different" because of events that shaped our culture and the
environment that we live in. Widening your perspectives will not only
help enrich your understanding of your patients from diverse backgrounds
but it will also enrich your understanding of life and yourself. In
more practical terms, tolerance and flexibility are very important
factors for cultural understanding. Respecting your patients (or all
individuals for that matter) no matter what background is very
important. However, you should not make special privileges or
overcompensate just because the patient is from a different cultural
background. Respect should be given in the same accord as everyone. What
you have to do is to give more understanding because it is not as easy
compared to a patient that shares your worldview.
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