'Emerging Standards of Care: Cultural Competence Essay\r'

'The United States is frequently referred to as a liquescent pot. hea becauseish diversity is an inevitable reality in today’s society. We are confront with an increasingly versatile enduring existence and a different theme of fountainheadness administer set uprs. Culture is a energetic and complex phenomena that most insure as some social function that describes a particular pagan group (Mitchell, Fioravanti, Founds, Hoffmann, & internationalist adenineere; Liebman, 2010). Culture influences a soulfulness’s behaviors, patterns, norms, customs, and beliefs on headspringness, illness, and wellness portion out. fit to Freidman, Bowden, and J unitys (2003), people view acculturation as a model for our way of behaving, living, and feeling. there is an existence associated mingled with culture and wellness practices. As the world becomes more diverse with migration, it is distinguished that treats and former(a) wellness anguish mildewers ear n and grapple the various cultures they encounter.\r\nThe reliable U.S. race exhibits unpar wholeeled pagan and socio pagan diversity, yet the nursing failforce fails to hypothecate the current state of the nation’s diversity. consort to the U.S. segment of wellness and gentlemans gentleman Services, the U.S. nursing workforce is predominantly etiolated/Non-Hispanic and female (U.S. plane section of wellness and homosexual Services, wellness Resources and Services Administration, 2010). Nurses face the ch all(prenominal)enge to meet the wellness finagle necessarily of a ethnically diverse nation while promoting diversity in the workforce. Nurses get along diversity in the workforce through with(predicate) educating agrees on pagan sensitivity and competency.\r\n heathen competence in nursing is evolving as a bill of bid. It is essential that view ass and opposite wellness disquietfulness providers employ fellowship of various social and cultural influences in the maintenance wadting to promote persevering-centered care (Mitchell, Fioravanti, Founds, Hoffmann, & Libman, 2010). It is necessary to cherish and separate the relevance of diversity in the cunning care setting to set standards of culturally fit nursing care, and to improve words of care through improving and showd own these standards.\r\nIt is important that health care providers non tho embrace cultural diversity, however also strive for cultural competence in effectuate to hold back that all unhurrieds receive the best possible care. It is arrogant that health care pros integrate a persevering’s cultural beliefs and practices into his or her treatment and reco really plan. wellness care is rapidly changing. Patients and families are more clear to these changes in modern medicine if their traditions and practices are integrated (Chater, 2008).\r\n ethnic competence non only pertains to race, sex, age, and ethnicity, but als o encompasses â€Å" early(a) inseparable factors of culture such as economic, political, sacred, psychosocial, and biological conditions” (Stein, 2010). Deli genuinely of culturally sufficient care entails promotion of the principles of social justice. gibe to the Ameri endure Nurses Association (2001), â€Å" mention for the intact worth, dignity, and human rights of both individual is a complete principle that underlies all nursing practice” (Ameri locoweed Nurses Association, 2001). These principles model the standards in providing culturally competent care. They also guide nurses’ decisions pertaining to tolerant care. It is crucial that nurses and separate health care providers examine their own beliefs and encourages. They must retrieve how their beliefs and values influence their inter put to deaths with patients, families, and colleagues.\r\nThe concepts of cultural aspiration, cultural skill, cultural appreciation, cultural fellowship, and cu ltural acquaintances all produce cultural readiness. Motivation of the nurse to become culturally proficient leads to word sense of cultural diversity. Cultural cognisance is the thoughtful self-exploration of an individual’s personal cultural background. This includes identifying one’s cultural assumptions, biases, and prejudices of unalike cultures. The capability of assessing and assembling relevantly cultural facts that are significant to the patient’s presenting problem refers to cultural skill. Cultural fellowship includes both seeking for and acquiring a strong educational foundation of the active multicultural population that includes health beliefs and practices. And, lastly, the play that encourages nurses to interact face-to-face with diverse cultures is cultural encounter. culturally competent care is r for distributively oneed by incorporating these concepts. By insideng so, there is a drop-off in health disparities and an increase in the potential for better outcomes and relevant care (Campinha-Bacote, 2003).\r\nThe HHS Disparities accomplishment Plan was initiated by the Department of Health and gracious Services. This plan coordinates with early(a) agencies to reach its goal of promoting health equivalence by using provisions set forth from Healthy People 2020 and the inexpensive Care Act (HHS, 2011). According to HHS (2011), ethnic groups such as Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians, and African Americans scram higher mortality rate rates than other ethnic groups. The HHS Disparities Action Plan identifies factors such as poverty, socioeconomic status, lack of access to health care and racially driven disparities to promote secure patient outcomes and health equality.\r\nSeveral little components establish standards of practice contribute to an establishment’s capacity to provide culturally competent care. These components include: critical reflection, transcultural nursing knowledge, soci al justice, cross-cultural practice and conversation, patient advocacy, health care systems, multicultural workforce education, policy setment, training, and evidenced- based practice and inquiry (Brady, 2010).\r\nHealth care facilities need to ensure that tools such as multilingual education materials and interpreters are in place to potently provide care. The use of cultural knowledge in composing a patient’s plan of care is a way to value diversity. Cultural competency is a continuous learning last. Health care facilities may collaborate with professional brasss to establish best evidence-based practice in order to develop policies and standardized culturally competent care and reduce disparities (Brady, 2010).\r\nSo, how does one become culturally competent? The initial step to becoming culturally competent is self-awareness. We must be aware of and value our own culture in order to identify with and recognize the value of the culture of others. We do this by crit ically reflecting on ourselves. â€Å"Examining and reflecting on one’s own ethnicity, belief structure, and values” determine the impress on our ability to â€Å"deliver culturally competent care” (Brady, 2010). A Nurses who study themselves are able to understand and treasure cultural differences. By insideng so, the nurse can establish ideal ways to put in effective health care function. An exercising would be that of a patient from the faraway East. A nurse caring for a Chinese patient must appreciate that the Chinese adhere to conventional heal practices such as acupuncture, meditation, and homeopathy.\r\nKnowing this, the nurse volition attempt to integrate these traditional practices into the patient’s treatment plan. The nurse can integrate acupuncture as an alternative treatment for pain management. A nurse who appreciates cultural diversity will strive to understand the cultural practices and beliefs of that patient and integrate appli cable elements of the patient’s culture in the plan of care. score of the plan of care and identifying the necessarily and expectations of the patient and family will aide in lessen tension, hence, develop a trust between the nurse, patient, and family.\r\n nursing is making assigns in promoting and implementing culturally competent care. transcultural Nursing familiarity is a professional nursing organization involved in ensuring cultural competence is cosmos included in the computer program of nursing schools throughout the nation. The Transcultural Nursing Society is also involved in ensuring that curriculums are providing nurses with the necessary knowledge base to ensure cultural competence in their practice (Transcultural Nursing Society, 2013).\r\nAnother organization, the post for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), provides guidelines to intensify culturally competent care in health care facilities. This organization recognizes the disparities in health care tar callable to linguistic differences. They also recognize that there is prevalence in racial and ethnic disparities in health care delivery in the United States. The AHRQ points out that culturally and linguistically diverse groups, as well as individuals with limited proficiency in English are disadvantaged in the health care system. These groups often experience poor health status and outcomes by accessing inadequate medical care in regards to quality despite consistent damages status and income.\r\nPolicy makers, civil rights groups, and health care facilities are responsible to understand the reasons behind persistent disparities and implement effective strategies to eliminate them. One way to do this is to improve cultural and linguistic competence of health care providers (Wilby, 2009). Linguistic competence is the ability of health care facilities to provide individuals with limited English proficiency fascinate oral and written row helpers. Health care faciliti es can hire bilingual/bicultural staff, train health care providers, or hire translators to assist during communication.\r\nThe National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, (CLAS), standards are â€Å" think to advance health equity, improve quality, and care eliminate health care disparities by establishing a blueprint for health and health care organizations” (OMH, 2013). there are quaternary categories under which these standards fall: principle standard; governance, leadership, and workforce; communication and language assistance; and engagement, continuous improvement, and accountability. Health care professionals can make the production of positive health outcomes for distinct populations possible by customizing services to a person’s communicatory communication preference and way of life.\r\n pursue health integrity must stop at the forefront of healthcare’s efforts, with continuous identification of dignity, respect, a nd quality of care as rights of all, and not the civil liberties of some. According to OHM (2013), culture defines how individuals receive health care reading, and how individuals exercise their rights and protections. It is what individuals consider a health dilemma, and how individuals express their indications and anxieties regarding the crisis.\r\nHolistic care involves conniving care to meet the individual needs of the patients, to care for the whole. This includes considering cultural differences when planning care. Barriers to culturally competent interactions entail verbal communication, communication approach, individuality, and sometimes a lack of respect for the patient’s preferences and needs. Language is a method by which a patient approaches the health care system, becomes aware of services, and formulates decisiveness in relation to his or her health performance (Woloshin, Schwartz, Katz, & Welch, 1997). Communication endorses the hazard for people of v arious backgrounds to learn from each other. Put the patients’ desire to understand showtime and make certain that they receive a chance to describe, in their own words, the information regarding their health care concerns and plans are fundamental initial measures in eliminating descrepancies and enhancing quality of care.\r\nCultural competence requires people to develop an awareness of the differences of other people and their cultural nature groups. One is not capable of organism culturally competent without considering the differences. Cultural competence does not involve giving up one’s own beliefs, values, or practices (Elliott, 2011). According to Elliott (2011), we can crack the cultural competency code by request questions, listening, and aligning our attitude.\r\nThe late Madeleine Leininger was a pioneer in the influence of culture on health care. Leininger was a Transcultural Nurse. She advocated cardinal leading standards that nurses can employ in car ing for patients from various diverse cultures. First, wield an extensive, independent, and open attitude in regards to each patient. Secondly, evade the perception that all patients are alike. Leininger believed that by pursuing these principles, we can surplus ourselves to discovering the way others envision health and illness, and develop relationships that are therapeutic. She viewed every clinical experience as cross-cultural (Leininger, 2002).\r\nDiversity at the Workplace\r\nI work in a infirmary in the bittie city of tarpon Springs, FL. tarpon Springs is fit(p) in Pinellas County. According to the 2010 census, the population was 23,484. tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Hellenic Americans than any other U.S. city. The city of tarpon Springs has a chalk up area of 16.9 square mile. 9.1 square miles being land, and 7.7 square miles being water. Tarpon Springs has a series of bayous which feed into the Gulf of Mexico, and was front settled around 1876 by unin fected and black fishermen and farmers. It got its name because some visitors spotted tarpon jumping out of the waters. The premier local loaf business was founded by John Cheyney.\r\nIn the 1890s, a hardly a(prenominal) classic immigrants arrived to work in the sponge industry. It was in 1905 that John Cocoris introduced sponge plunk to Tarpon Springs and recruited divers and crew members from Greece. Tarpon Springs became the largest sponge dock industry in the world. Many restaurants serving traditional Greek cuisine line the streets of Tarpon Springs, as well as quaint boutiques. close beaches are popular for swimming, picnics, boating and windsurfing. screening bottlenose dolphin are a favorite past-time of many.\r\nTarpon Springs is also cognize for its Greek Orthodox festivities, including the January 6 Epiphany jubilation that includes youths diving for a cross and the good will of the boats and waters. This celebration attracts Greek Americans from across the coun try.\r\nThe racial makeup of the city is 90.07% white, 6.15% African American, 0.29% indigen American, 1.04% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races. Hispanic or Latino is 4.33% of the population. 11.8% of the total population delineate their ancestry as Greek, which is included in the white statistic of 90.07%. 8.87% report oratory Greek at home, while 3.46% admit to speaking Spanish, and another 1.09% French. There are 91.8 males for every 100 females. The median income for a house is $38,251. About 7.7% of families and 9.8% of the population are below the poverty level.\r\nThe infirmary which I work is the only hospital in Tarpon Springs. The hospital has 168 beds which comprise 150 cracking care beds, 18 transitional care beds, 14 ER beds, 9 ORs, 2 C-Section rooms, and 2 cathlabs. Adventist Health Systems acquired the hospital from University Health approximately 4 days ago. As you can see from the preceding(prenominal) demographics, this hospital overhaul s a diverse population and community. From a religious perspective AHS is of the Adventist religion, however, welcomes, serves, and does not discriminate against any religion.\r\nThe primary language is English, however, various languages such as Greek, Spanish, French and Italian are spoken as well. Unfortunately, there are some patients who only speak their native language, and do not speak, nor understand English. For the most part, the hospital experiences token(prenominal) difficulty in assisting the patients and families in translation. Recently, the hospital contracted with a translation service using the internet. The hospital does provide entree and treatment information sheets and consents in other languages, as well.\r\nOur hospital is dedicated to serve the multicultural community of Tarpon Springs. Our food for thought service caters to different cultures on a daily basis. Of course, Tuesday is Taco Tuesday. However, other ethnic foods are offered daily such as Gree k, Italian, and Chinese cuisine as well as Soul Food and food that is in accordance with the beliefs of the Seventh twenty-four hours Adventist religion, which excludes pork and shellfish from their diet.\r\nChaplains and different religious figures are available to visit and petition with patients and families. either Friday at sunset, a suppliant recognizing the beginning of the Sabbath is heard over the intercom. Every Saturday evening at sunset, another supplicant is heard over the intercom to recognize the end of the Sabbath. All committees, meetings and gatherings are started with prayer. There is signage throughout the hospital to portray our cathexis:\r\nExtending the healing ministry of Christ.\r\nI feel confident(p) in saying that this hospital does honor Culture Care Standards. Signage is posted in all patient care areas and humankind areas regarding the hospitals standards. Signage includes anything from Equal Opportunity Employer to EMTALA. Because the workforc e is very multicultural, the hospital is at an advantage at meeting these standards. There is one thing that all employees know; we are family despite our cultural differences. I am very proud to say that I work for this hospital.\r\nConclusion\r\nThe United States is a melting pot, and is becoming more and more diverse every day. Recognizing that diverse cultures exist is the initiatory step in decreasing health disparities, and providing the best possible care to individuals. Health care workers, including nurses, need to practice self-awareness. By becoming aware of self, they can then embrace other cultures and the needs of their patients. It is important for all health care professionals to understand the culture and beliefs of the patient population which they serve, in order to integrate these beliefs in his or her practice, whereby enhancing the quality of care provided to all patients.\r\n learning and training is vital in ensuring that health care professionals attain cli nical duty and strong therapeutic relations with the patients they serve. We cannot regularise the communities that we serve. Cultural competence does not concoct giving up one’s own beliefs or values. It means interruption eyes to the beliefs and values of others. The need for health care professionals to integrate cultural competence will allow delivery of optimum care, treatment, satisfaction, and better patient outcomes.\r\nReferences\r\nAmerican Nurses Association. (2001). regulation of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements.\r\nRetrieved from http://nursebooks.org\r\nBrady, J.M. (2010). Cultural nursing implications in an integrated world. ledger of\r\nPeriAnesthesia Nursing, 25(6), 409-412. doi: 10.1016/j.jopan.2010.10.005\r\nCampinha-Bacote, J. (2003, January). Many faces: Addressing diversity in health care. Online\r\nJournal of Issues in Nursing, 8(1), Manuscript 2. Retrieved from\r\nwww.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAperiodicals /O\r\nJIN/TableofContents/Volume82003/No1Jan2003/AddressingDiversityinHealthCare.aspx\r\nChater, K. (2008). Palliative care in a multicultural society: A altercate for western ethics.\r\nAustralian Journal of forward-looking Nursing, 26(2), 95.\r\nDepartment of Health and Human Services. (2011). HHS action plan to reduce racial and\r\nethnic health disparities. Retrieved from http://minorityhelath.hhs.gov/npa/templates/\r\ncontent.aspx?lvl-1&lvlid=33&ID=285\r\nElliot, G. (2011). Cracking the cultural competency code. Canadian Nursing Home, 22(1),\r\n27-30.\r\nFriedman, M.M., Bowden, V.R., & Jones, E.G. (2003). Family nursing: Research, scheme, &\r\nPractice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.\r\nLeininger, M. (2011). Culture care theory: A major contribution to advance transcultural\r\nnursing knowledge and practices. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3). 189-192.\r\nMitchell, A., Fioravanti, M., Founds, S., Hoffmann, R., & Libman, R. (2010). U sing role model\r\nTo bridge communication and cultural barriers in health care encounters: Report of an\r\ninternational workshop. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 6, 193-198. doi: 10.1016/j.ecsn.\r\n2009.10.001\r\nStein, K. (2010). Moving cultural competency from addict to act. Supplement to the Journal of\r\nthe American dietary Association, 110(5), 21-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.010\r\nTranscultural Nursing Society. (2013). Transcultural Nursing Society mission and vision.\r\nRetrieved from http://www.tcns.org\r\nU.S. Department of Commerce. (2010). United States Census Bureau Tarpon Spring, Florida.\r\nRetrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov\r\nUnited States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH).\r\n(2013). The National CLAS Standards. Retrieved from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov\r\ntemplates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=15\r\n'