Discuss current thinking on different approaches to addressing diversity/inclusivity in the clinical and classroom environments. Identify a variety of ways in which different cultures perceive the learning experience. Focus on learning styles.
Discuss the impact of culture on health and illnesses. Explore health seeking behaviors of a variety of cultures and explore how clinical nurses can adapt their practices to accommodate the behaviors. .
Complete your discussion with a list of current citations and references.
Please respond to peers discussion and add one different comment to the discussion? Please respond to Irish Culture.
In both the healthcare arena and classroom, the topics of cultural competence and diversity are being discussed more frequently and openly. Cultural competence encompasses the capacity to identify, understand, and respect the values and beliefs of others (Diaz, Clarke & Gatua, 2015). Training on various cultures and their beliefs in regards to healthcare have allowed for individuals to be cared for in their own culturally accepted manner. Each person will perceive and handle their condition in different ways, and will expect and require different approaches to care?culture will undoubtedly play its role in this equation (Mendes, 2015) The clinical nurses must adapt their practices to provide patient-centered care with their cultural beliefs in mind. The nurse should feel comfortable having an open discussion with the patient about their cultural values and beliefs, in order to adhere to and respect those practices, which may be foreign to them.
A person?s faith may affect their treatment decisions and preferences, and importantly, advance care plans for their end-of-life care (Mendes, 2015). For example, a Jehovah?s Witness can sign a Bloodless Advanced Directive and have the ability to choose other means of life-saving products without going against their beliefs and accepting blood. A study in the British Journal of Midwifery discussed the birth plan preferences in Nigerian and Irish women in Ireland. The Irish women were more vocal on wanting an epidural for pain relief, while the Nigerian women did not want to use anything for pain relief in labor. In general, Nigerians appear to view childbirth as a natural, at times lengthy, phenomenon and as such it is not unusual to avoid analgesia and medical intervention, such as cesarean section delivery (Sheridan, Yekinni, Oyeye, Ogunleye, Oluyede, O?Sullivan, & Higgins, 2011). Since the publishing of this study, the healthcare providers in that area of Ireland have tailored their practices to respect the cultural differences and offer other methods of pain relief such as massage therapy, aromatherapy and hydrotherapy; this is a fantastic example of providing culturally competent care.
If the patient?s culture is respected and used in the plan of care, they will be more receptive to adhere to the recommendations and keep up with the regimen. Using culturally competent care encourages help-seeking behaviors among minority populations, because they know they will be cared for in a manner most comfortable and familiar to them. It will also result in earlier diagnoses and increased access to services and treatment; it is important to recognize the cultural identities of all individual [patients] increasing their personal quality of life, and in turn come closer to achieving the type of care provision we would all wish for our own loved ones (Mendes, 2015). Culture has a tremendous impact on health and illness, as stated earlier, it can make or break the patient?s willingness to follow a healthcare regimen. The way to ensure all nurses are prepared to care for diverse patients is through the promotion of diversity in nursing education programs, as well as fostering the development of cultural competence among all levels of nursing students (Diaz, Clarke & Gatua, 2015). This essential practice will prepare student nurses to deliver high quality, patient-centered care.
In nursing education, aside from preparing the students to provide culturally competent care, the educators are tasked with ensuring students from all different cultures, religions, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientation and age ranges are respected and feel included in the educational experience. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) estimates approximately 73% of undergraduate nursing students are now considered non-traditional which refers to any student who meets one or more of the following criteria: aged 25 or older, commutes to school, enrolled part time, is male, is a member of an ethnic or racial minority group, speaks English as a second or additional language, has dependent children, and holds a general equivalency diploma (GED) or has required re-medial classes (Bednarz, Schim, & Doorenbos, 2010).