...Cultural competency is a "set of congruent practice skills, behaviors, attitudes and policies that come embedded in a system, agency, or among consumer providers and professionals" (Green & Reinckens, 2013). Cultural competency allows tasks to be carried out effectively in any setting and situation. A health care professional who is culturally competent provides good awareness and sensitivity to individuals are of different cultures. Health care workers face diversity on a daily whether it's in society or at work, our patients and co-workers. Nursing practice will have to adapt to the many belief systems that exist today, nurses that are aware of this will become culturally competent. Barriers to cultural sensitivity in the nursing profession...
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...significance of cultural competence for the provision of quality care in this diverse society. Identifying and comprehending the beliefs, customs, practices, and values of a culture is essential for nurses and health care providers. Beyond the racial and ethnic group, classification that usually comes to mind with discussion of cultural diversity, other types of cultural diversity such as gender and organization affiliation warrants attention. This paper will discuss cultural competence in home health care/hospice, the people that receive service and issues of community vulnerability. Exploration of standards of cultural competence, potential impacts of delivery of care, and possible solutions to implement where standards are not being met will emerge. Cultural Competence According to Freidman, Bowden, and Jones (2003), people view culture as a model for our way of living, behaving, living, and feeling. An association between culture and heath practices is existent. In fact, culture is the most influential factor in determining health behaviors and beliefs (Campinha-Bacote, 2003). Cultural competence involves being aware of, and conversant on, and sensitive to the diverse cultures that exist in the population. Health care providers should not only embrace cultural diversity but must also strive for cultural competence in order to ensure that all patients receive the best care possible. Nurses spend the most time with their patients; therefore, if nurses are not aware...
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...professional nurse is responsible for providing safe, compassionate, comprehensive nursing care to patients and their families with complex healthcare needs” (Practice- Registered Nurse n.d.). One of the standards set forth by TX BON is “the maintenance of health, or prevention of illness”. Leininger’s theory says when an individual’s cultural expectations are not met or overlooked can delay progress or lead to worsening health. A nurse is not able to maintain health or prevent illness if he/she is faced with the obstacle lacking cultural knowledge and awareness. Therefore, nurses must approach each patient encounter uniquely with what is learned through literature and from clinical experiences in developing a nursing care plan. Another scope of practice defined by TX BON is the supervision and...
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...Journal of Transcultural Nursing http://tcn.sagepub.com/ Standards of Practice for Culturally Competent Nursing Care : 2011 Update Marilyn K. Douglas, Joan Uhl Pierce, Marlene Rosenkoetter, Dula Pacquiao, Lynn Clark Callister, Marianne Hattar-Pollara, Jana Lauderdale, Jeri Milstead, Deena Nardi and Larry Purnell J Transcult Nurs 2011 22: 317 DOI: 10.1177/1043659611412965 The online version of this article can be found at: http://tcn.sagepub.com/content/22/4/317 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: Transcultural Nursing Society Additional services and information for Journal of Transcultural Nursing can be found at: Email Alerts: http://tcn.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://tcn.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://tcn.sagepub.com/content/22/4/317.refs.html >> Version of Record - Sep 26, 2011 What is This? Downloaded from tcn.sagepub.com by Marty Douglas on September 27, 2011 412965 ouglas et al.Journal of Transcultural Nursing TCN22410.1177/1043659611412965D Commentary Journal of ranscultural Nursing T 22(4) 317–333 © The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1043659611412965 http://tcn.sagepub.com Standards of Practice for Culturally Competent Nursing Care: 2011 Update Marilyn K. Douglas, DNSc, RN, FAAN1, Joan...
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...Standards of Care The Office of Minority Health defines the term “cultural competency” as “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations” (“What is Cultural Competency, n.d.). Health care providers have begun focusing on ways to create culturally appropriate and effective health care policies. These policies will lead to culturally sensitive care provided to patients. The diversity within the world’s population is changing hastily and impacting health care globally. Although, many organizations have provided their definitions of cultural competence regarding health care, all organizations, health care providers, and patients have their own vision of what cultural competency entails. It is important that all providers use their individual understanding of the term to analyze ways to meet the standards of nursing care. With standards in place, organizations can develop tools which measure individual patient needs as well as measuring the effectiveness of the organization’s culturally diverse practices. As populations become more diverse, it is imperative that the gap in disparities of health care be closed. To ensure these differences are addressed, health care providers and patients must discuss the concerns without cultural differences hindering the discussion (What is Cultural Competency, n.d.). All categories and specialties within the health care...
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...Heritage Assessment Nurses have been trained to respect the beliefs and cultural choices of others because patient’s cultural beliefs and rituals influence patient care and outcomes (Anderson, 2012). Nurses need to become aware of patients beliefs, values and rituals to ensure competent and safe patient care (Edelman & Greiner, 2010). The heritage assessment is useful because it is an important step in building cultural competency through interviewing the patient and determining the things the patient value and respect most in life (Sankaran, 2007). Heritage assessments give patients an opportunity to express their beliefs, values and rituals. Respect is shown to the patient by respecting their beliefs and rituals as closely as possible without hindering patient care. This paper will discuss the benefits of using a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of the whole patient, interviews of people from different cultures, identify common health traditions of the three cultures and evaluate how families subscribe to these traditions and practices. Cultural competency involves more than just asking questions, but it opens up the diversity of the patient’s culture. Nurses must become aware of their own cultural biases and focus on the cultural beliefs and values of the patient by performing a heritage assessment (Edelman & Greiner, 2010). This heritage assessment will give the nurse a clearer picture of the patient’s background and in the process will improve the quality of...
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...to their ethnicity, religion, and heritage. This can be achieved by completion of the Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT). The Heritage Assessment Tool allows health care professionals, especially nurses, to have improved patient-nurse relationships and allows the patient to be treated as a whole being with respect to their beliefs and traditions. This paper will discuss the usefulness of applying the HAT as it evaluates the needs of three diverse families. The families of Vietnamese Americans, Mexican Americans, and Italian Americans will be discussed to identify the differences in health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. The families’ health traditions based on their cultural heritage will also be identified. Usefulness of Applying the Heritage Assessment Tool The Heritage Assessment tool evaluates the degree to which an individual lives by their cultural beliefs and traditions. The questionnaire contains 29 questions to help determine if a person is traditional in their culture or if they are more acculturated with less compliance to their traditional practices. The questions examine family relationships, religious beliefs, ethnic traditions and beliefs. The tool brings awareness to the many culturally based health beliefs and practices. The HAT allows the nurse to become aware of the...
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...due to the poor quality and accessibility of health care services. As the population of diversity continues to grow rapidly so does the importance of cultural competence in healthcare. Cultural competence is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and skills that enables nurses to work effectively in cross-cultural situations ("Cultural Competence", 2014). Organizations must have the capacity to value diversity, conduct self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, institutionalize cultural knowledge and adapt to the diversity and the cultural context of the communities they serve. The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) stated that inequities in service delivery and care in the health care system are associated with discrimination, and a lack of culturally competent practices, including a lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity by health care providers (Upsher, n.d). Substance abuse is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences ("The Science Of Drug Abuse And Addiction: The Basics", 2014). This paper will discuss and define the appropriateness of competent care in Substance abuse care and identify the populations served and issues of population vulnerability. In addition, exploration of standards of cultural competence with substance abuse, the delivery of nursing care and potential impact, and the resolutions of implementation of standards that did not met...
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...Differences in Competencies between Nurses Based on Degree Level Introduction Nurses usually start their training as generalists and then pursue various specialties as they advance their education. Principally, there are three types of nurses based on their levels of education and responsibilities. The first type is the Registered Nurse (RN), who holds a diploma in Practical Nursing (ASN) after two years of study in either a college or a hospital. Based on their education level, RNs are competent enough to deal with some complex issues. Consequently, they mostly deal with patients who are stable and predictable. The second type is the Registered Nurse (BSN). The RNs with a baccalaureate degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). RNs undertake comprehensive studies; hence, they possess superior knowledge and skills in critical thinking, research, and clinical practice. Notably, the BSN are competent to handle patients with complex problems and unpredictable conditions. The third type is the Nurse Practitioners (NPs), who are Registered Nurses with advanced education. NPs specialize in adult care, primary health care, anesthesia, or pediatric care (Klein and Fowles 117). Competence and Advanced Education Notably, the competence of nurses increases as they advance their level of education. Indeed, some states have laws that require nurses to continue with their education as a condition for the renewal of their licenses. The reason that nursing demands continued education is...
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... University of Phoenix Emerging Standards of Care: Cultural Competence The current U.S. population exhibits unparalleled sociocultural and ethnic diversity, yet the nursing workforce fails to reflect the current state of the nation’s diversity. According to Clark, Calvillo, Fongwa, Kools, Dela Cruz, Lowe, and Mastel-Smith (2011) non-Hispanic Whites constitute 83.2% of the nursing workforce, although Hispanics, African Americans, American Indians, Asians, and other ethnic groups remain underrepresented. Nursing faces the challenge to meet the health care needs of such a culturally diverse population while promoting diversity in the workforce through educating nurses on cultural sensitivity and competence. Cultural competence in nursing is evolving as the standard of care. Nursing and other health care providers must employ knowledge of various social and cultural influences in the care setting to promote patient-centered care (Mitchell, Fioravanti, Founds, Hoffmann, & Libman, 2010). It is crucial to recognize and appreciate the relevance of diversity in the acute care setting to set standards of culturally competent nursing care, and improve care delivery through meeting and improving these standards. Cultural Competence When examining definitions and concepts of cultural competence, it is evident that it not only pertains to race, sex, age, and ethnicity, but also encompasses “other inseparable...
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...times. Along with technology, medicine, it’s self has evolved. In prehistoric times, plants, animal parts, and minerals where used to heal the sick. In this 21st century we turn to chemistry along with plants and minerals, so that we can compound new chemicals to create improved versions or new medicine. In addition to this, we also have a blended world, with people from all over, who speak different languages and have different cultural beliefs. Consequently, for some of these cultures, this causes conflict and animosity among patient and caregivers, so much so that patients will not see a physician even if they are critically ill, which can lead to countless other concerns, including communicable disease spreading. Subsequently, many states are taking matters into their own hands and making sure that all healthcare providers are trained in how to manage the vast cultural diversity that is among us today. For instance, the state of Hawaii, which has a large diversity of cultures from all over the world has incorporated a curriculum in cultural competency training at John A. Burns school of medicine since 2003, primarily focusing on the host culture. Indeed, this is appropriate recognizing that the Native Hawaiians have higher expected death rates than blacks and whites (Kamaka, M. L., Paloma, D. S., & Maskarinec, G. G. (2011). Conversely, one could argue that this curriculum should have been instilled many years ago, knowing that congress had passed an native Hawaiian health care...
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...Differences in Competencies between Associate Degree Nurses and Baccalaureate Degree Nurses “BSN in 10” bills either pending or under legislation in some states, will require nurses to obtain a bachelor’s degree in 10 years. Even more hospitals and healthcare facilities seeking Magnet status seem to be encouraging Associate Degree nurses to return to school or obtain a BSN before applying for employment. Nursing is a profession that involves skills and knowledge to provide optimum level of care. ADN versus BSN has been an issue of controversy for years. The primary focus of this paper will be discussing the differences in competencies of nurses educated in an ADN level to those educated in a BSN level. These differences include varying curriculum requirements, education content and patient outcomes. The first difference in ADN and BSN is the amount of education. The associate degree in nursing includes two years in the nursing program and can be obtained at a community or junior college. However, there are prerequisite courses required for entry into the nursing program, so ADN programs can be at least 3 years in length. Today, earning an ADN takes almost as long as earning a BSN (Orsolini-Hain & Waters, 2009). In contrast, baccalaureate degree in nursing includes four academic years of college at a four year university. Both degrees take the same NCLEX board exam for licensing and both degrees enter into the same position as a registered nurse, with similar wages and benefits...
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...Emerging Standards of Care: Cultural Competence Nur 531 July 29, 2013 Instructor Greg Friensz Emerging Standards of Care: Cultural Competence The current U.S. population exhibits unparalleled sociocultural and ethnic diversity, yet the nursing workforce fails to reflect the current state of the nation’s diversity. According to Clark, Calvillo, Fongwa, Kools, Dela Cruz, Lowe, and Mastel-Smith (2011) non-Hispanic Whites constitute 83.2% of the nursing workforce, although Hispanics, African Americans, American Indians, Asians, and other ethnic groups remain underrepresented. Nursing faces the challenge to meet the health care needs of such a culturally diverse population while promoting diversity in the workforce through educating nurses on cultural sensitivity and competence. Cultural competence in nursing is evolving as the standard of care. Nursing and other health care providers must employ knowledge of various social and cultural influences in the care setting to promote patient-centered care (Mitchell, Fioravanti, Founds, Hoffmann, & Libman, 2010). It is crucial to recognize and appreciate the relevance of diversity in the acute care setting to set standards of culturally competent nursing care, and improve care delivery through meeting and improving these standards. When examining definitions and concepts of cultural competence, it is evident that it not only pertains to race, sex, age, and ethnicity, but encompasses “other inseparable factors of culture...
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...Competency Differences between Baccalaureate nurses and Associate degree nurses The National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP), policy advisors to Congress and the Secretary for Health and Human Services on nursing issues, has urged that at least two-thirds of the nurse workforce hold baccalaureate or higher degrees in nursing by 2010. Baccalaureate Nursing Program Baccalaureate nursing programs encompass all of the course work taught in associate degree and diploma programs plus a more in-depth treatment of the physical and social sciences, nursing research, public and community health, nursing management, and the humanities. The additional course work enhances the student’s professional development, prepares the new nurse for a broader scope of practice, and provides the nurse with a better understanding of the cultural, political, economic, and social issues that affect patients and influence health care delivery. There are distinct differences between the 72 ADN credits and 125 BSN credits required in each of the nursing programs' curriculum. The baccalaureate curriculum has a different focus, emphasizing evidenced-based clinical practice and leadership. Additional courses are offered in the baccalaureate curriculum, such as research, statistics, critical thinking, and public health/community health. In addition, the additional units prepare the baccalaureate nurse to pursue graduate study, leading to an advanced degree in nursing. Baccalaureate...
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...(Sanchez, Chapa, Ybarra, & Martinez, Jr., 2012, p. 5) By integrating into care the individuals beliefs and needs, the professional can create rapport with the individual in such a way that encourages the individual to be active in their own health decisions based on the professional's medical knowledge and the individual's belief system. Culturally competent care is care that is respectful of and responsive to an individual's health beliefs, practices, and needs. This type of care is sensitive to the individual's ethnic and religious beliefs as well as cultural beliefs that have been shown to engage individuals into participating in their healthcare. The skill to deliver culturally competent care is vital for all nurses. For all nurse who work in high-acuity or high-stress healthcare system environment, culturally competent care is particularly significant to patient outcomes. Nurses need to advance their cultural competency in order to be effective in developing bonds with patients, and to assess correctly, and to develop and implement nursing interventions designed...
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