Cultural Competence in Nursing - Research Paper Example

Cultural competence is very important in the field of nursing since nurses serve as the advocates of patients. Nurses are taught to protect dignity and safeguard the rights of the patients. With the increasing globalization and growing multiculturalism in society, the need for cultural competence in nurses has never been stronger. The contemporary society is diverse and this is clearly demonstrated by both the coworkers and the patients in the health care system. Cultural diversity is a very important characteristic feature of the American health system and has a significant impact on the quality of care provided by the nurses.

The process of learning the traits of the local culture starts right from birth. As they grow up, nurses assimilate into their indigenous culture that can have a profound effect on the way they interact with the patients as well as the way they operate in the health care system. Cultural competence essentially means the ability to deal with the differences of beliefs, opinions, values, and practices grounded in cultural differences in an articular manner so that the quality of work is enhanced and conflicts are deterred. Barriers to the cultural competence of nurses include but are not limited to discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, racism, lack of awareness, and lack of language proficiency. Certain barriers are overtly noticeable such as lack of language competency because the nurse cannot communicate with the other person while other barriers are hidden such as lack of awareness of the belief systems of different cultures. In certain situations, nurses display a lack of sensitivity even without any intention to offend the other person. This lack of sensitivity is grounded in nurses’ lack of awareness of the different sets of beliefs and norms that comprise different cultures. Culturally competent nurses are well-equipped to enhance the interconnections between the culture and health literacy of the patients so that the health outcomes of patients belonging to different cultures can be improved. Unfortunately, the nursing literature does not offer much help in the integration of linguistic and cultural considerations into the efforts of nursing as a result of which, patient health literacy is not adequately addressed (Singleton and Krause, 2009).

Although it is very difficult to fully master the values of different cultures, it should be understood that good manners are appreciated and interpreted as symbols of respect in almost every culture. Simple steps like asking the patients how their day has been and asking them by what name or title do they want to be addressed inculcate respect in the hearts of the patients and coworkers for the nurses.

In order to develop cultural competence, it is imperative that nurses acknowledge the existence of a variety of belief systems in society. There are times when others’ health care practices appear meaningless or strange. Nurses might find others’ beliefs about the health care services in their country difficult to understand. While it is not required of a nurse to fully understand the whole variety of belief systems of their patients, yet nurses need to have respect for them.

Nurses should avoid making assumptions about the beliefs of people from different cultures if they are not familiar with the values of those cultures. “Cultural competence is obtaining cultural information and then applying that knowledge” (Culturaldiversity.org, 2012). In light of this definition of cultural competence, it is more advisable for the nurses to ask those individuals very thoughtfully and professionally how things are done in their culture, if necessary. The nurses need to try to find out the level of awareness in the patients about their health problems, methods of treatment, and the expected outcomes. Nurses should display respect for the support groups of the patients as well that may include anybody ranging from family members to religious leaders.

This awareness can be used to foster clear understanding between a nurse and the patients as well as the family members of the patients. Besides, nurses should act in the most ethically justifiable manner because the nobility of conduct on the part of the nurse is fundamental to the development of understanding.