What are the methods a nurse can use to gather cultural information from patients? How does cultural competence relate to better patient care? Discuss the ways in which a nurse demonstrates cultural competency in nursing practice.

Cultural Competence and Nutrition in Health Promotion-Essay Example

Culture and cultural alignment affect how nurses and other healthcare practitioners gather healthcare information and offer healthcare promotion. Culture necessitates nurses’ ability to acclimatize with the patient’s specific needs and fully engage with them to provide education and promote healthcare-seeking behaviors. Notably, cultural competence allows nurses to comprehend, communicate and interact with their patients effectively across diverse cultures (Sharifi et al., 2019). The nurses can also learn how cultural diversity affects and informs healthcare decisions while allowing care modification to align with the patient’s culture. By so doing, the nurses can integrate knowledge, skills, and attitude to improve cross-cultural communication and bolster meaningful and respectful interaction with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds.(Gathering cultural-information from patients Essay-Example)

Nurses can collect cultural information from patients through various means. First, nurses can collect cultural information through medical examination that entails collecting the patient’s medical history. During a medical examination, the nurses will ask the patient questions concerning their family, community, affiliated beliefs, religion, and daily life practices while establishing the patient’s need and preferred intervention. For instance, the nurses can ask questions such as what the patient fears most about becoming ill, what treatments are acceptable, or how they feel sickness affects their daily life. Secondly, nurses can collect cultural information by researching different cultures from reliable resources or visiting and interacting with people from areas with dominant cultures. By so doing, the nurses will learn about prominent cultural beliefs and practices to inform their care plan while building rapport and trust with different patients regardless of their ethnic and cultural backgrounds.(Gathering cultural-information from patients Essay-Example)

Notably, nurses demonstrate cultural competence by offering a holistic model of care that addresses physical and psychosocial patient needs. Cultural awareness allows nurses and other healthcare professionals to comprehend their culture and professional background (Kaihlanen et al., 2019). In this case, the nurses acknowledge their own beliefs, values, and practices and accept that they can be different from those of the patients. Secondly, healthcare professionals portray cultural competence when they treat patients as unique and not defined by their culture. Intercultural communication and promoting cultural diversity among nurses foster cultural competence directed towards quality care and patient satisfaction.(Gathering cultural-information from patients Essay-Example)

References

Kaihlanen, A. M., Hietapakka, L., & Heponiemi, T. (2019). Increasing cultural awareness: a qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions about cultural competence training. BMC nursing, 18(1), 1-9.

Sharifi, N., Adib-Hajbaghery, M., & Najafi, M. (2019). Cultural competence in nursing: A concept analysis. International journal of nursing studies, 99, 103386.