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The pivot point of a healthy patient and nurse relationship is cultural competence. All nurses should make it their priority while administering care to patients.
Cultural competence relies upon the growth and development of nurses by taking the societal values into consideration. Generally, nursing as a career is quite versatile, where nurses are expected to care for the sick, derive treatment plans, aid the elderly in different settings and more.
A good nurse is one who is not just technically sound, but also has great expertise in cultural competence.
Cultural Competence in Nursing: What It Essentially Means
Primarily, cultural competence in burses focuses on the ability of healthcare personals to offer adequate care to patients while being aware of different cultural parameters such as values, race and beliefs. It revolves around having knowledge of the patients' cultural diversity and then treating them while considering the factors in mind.
A culturally competent nurse is one that empathizes, can relate to patients and strives to meet their needs. When patients are hospitalized, they tend to get stressed or agitated. Having a nursing professional as part of their care team who can communicate in their language, or understands their relative background may help them relax, ensuring better care and therapy.
Culturally Competent Care in Nursing
Cultural competence can help nurses in communicating, understanding and interacting with people effectively. It centers its focus around:
• Understand the relation between patients and nurses.
• Acquire knowledge pertaining to different views of the world and cultural practices.
• Foster effective communication skills to achieve and promote cultural harmony.
• Ensure the depiction of a positive attitude towards other cultures.
Cultural competence revolves around tolerating other practices and cultures. Rather, it aims to bridging the gap and offer customized care.
When a nurse practices cultural competence, they adopt a holistic approach that spans beyond geographical barriers. When you are working as a nurse, you should work to respect their cultures while handling patients. This way, nurses can improve quality of care and enhance your capability.
Aspects of Cultural Competence in Nursing
Culturally competent care focuses on five core blocks:
• Cultural awareness focuses on examining oneself, and giving up on prejudices that one has derived previously against foreign cultures. Fostering the right attitude helps in giving better health to clients and patients.
• Cultural knowledge focuses on searching for cultural information and beliefs so that you can develop better interaction and understanding of their mindset.
• Cultural skill focuses on the ability to collect data and process it strategically to engage in productive cross-cultural interactions.
• Enabling nurses to venture out of their conversant environments and explore newer places and cultures. They improve their competence by meeting and interacting with people of different ethnicities and backgrounds.
• Fostering a strong motivation to learn about different cultures. It is a strong force that allows you to open up to new people, understand their culture, to accept difference and nurture the urge to learn and evolve.
Examples of Cultural Competence in Nursing
There are multiple examples of nurses who exhibit cultural competence. A few of the traits are:
• Communicating in a language that is easy to comprehend.
• Not disregarding anyone's belief or discriminate on the basis of religious background and doing the best for them.
• Empathizing with the patient.
• Valuing the patient and appreciating their individuality.
Importance of Cultural Competence in Nursing Care
Cultural competence is important as it helps the nurse to offer the best service to patients ensuring better satisfaction and care. Without cultural competency, the healthcare sector is likely to suffer from massive losses and ultimately limit the services they offer.
Having in depth knowledge of cultural competence restricts professional healthcare professionals from different stereotypes. This way, you can offer best services to everyone of their belief.
Healthcare workers can improve their cultural competence by opting for continued education, specific assessments and cross-cultural interactions. These efforts keep their minds open and free from judgment about different locations and cultures.
