Modern Multicultural Society - Essay Example

?Cultural Sensitivity: Article Analysis Introduction The current global society is increasingly becoming multicultural (Sagar, 2011, p259). As different services must be delivered to the public, sensitivity to distinct values of a particular community or culture must be prioritized. In nursing care, cultural classification of the communities to be served is an invaluable start. This paper focuses on Hispanic cultural features as regards quality of care. To this end, a journal article “Nurse-Curanderas: Las Que Curan at the Heart of Hispanic Culture” by Elaine Luna (2003) has been consulted. The choice of this article is based on the interest in the more or less resilient Hispanic culture as represented even in the culturally dynamic developed countries. Hispanic culture remains stiff in terms of retention of traditional values and is represented in many countries of the world. Hispanic culture is in totality a reflection of Spain, Latin America and most countries in the Central America let alone being represented in large numbers in the US, European countries, some parts of Spain colonies in Africa and in Far East (Luna, 2003, p331). The article covers an emerging Hispanic folk healing as a nursing care approach where bilingual nurses integrate a cultural health care practice, curanderismo (meaning Hispanic folk healing), into modern nursing care, a move that has seen better health outcomes being realized in the US for the minority Hispanic group. Article Summary Luna’s article (2003) is an outsider’s eye on the Hispanic folk healing as a meaningful approach to health care in today’s times among the minority Hispanic groups living in the US. It introduces curanderismo as a renowned survival tactic in health care in history as old as 15th century. In the article, Luna (2003, p329) justifies cultural health interventions by linking them to the survival of humankind through medieval ages before modern biomedical models came to be. Today, the success of curanderismo in nursing is no longer thought of as magical as most people used to believe but an approach that has proven curative values (Luna, 2003, p333). The article primarily focuses on, other than just plain justification, real benefits of especially the use of curanderismo among other culturally and/or traditionally inclined medical care approaches. First is the regional benefit for the user. Using locally available plants and herbs, curanderismo is only traditional knowledge required for one to heal. With such a mechanism language between the caregiver or the nurse and the patient is no longer a barrier. Second benefit in line is the little economic input required. The nurse-curanderas (Hispanic folk healers or nurses) use plants and herbs, in a similar way the Asians do, and therefore capital resources required are basically cheap and locally available – and thus low-cost services. Compared to today’s escalating costs in modern physicians and health care delivery systems, a blending with the low-cost curanderismo reduces health care costs for the American minority groups with Hispanic origin. Therefore, in a way, curanderismo is a socio-economically friendly approach in this context, especially in US where the health insurance system has failed. The nurse-curanderas, in addition, have learned to use two languages – American English and Hispanic. Luna (2003) refers to these nurses and bilingual nurse-curanderas, who in their capacity as nurses are particularly effective in giving necessary care even to aboriginal Hispanics who may be completely locked to Hispanic language and culture. While some groups somehow distrust modern health services, curanderismo and the likes provide additional alternatives (Luna, 2003, p330). Interpreting Luna’s Article into real life practice In modern world, health care, like most other industries, faces difficult controversial issue of diversity of cultures (Sagar, 2011, p13). Due to globalization, modern health facilities are flocked with patients of different cultural backgrounds. Due to issues like language barrier, distrust to modern health care systems and family or cultural patterns of beliefs, most people do not receive holistic health care services (College of Nurses of Ontario [CNO], 2009, p7) as it should be the case. Curinderismo not only provides an alternative and a compliment to the modern health care models, but it also enhances high competence for the minority Hispanic communities in the US. Purnell’s model of cultural competence, as interpreted by Sagar (2011, p21), dictates that the impact of cultural misrepresentation manifests community deterioration at four levels: the global society; community; family; and an individual. Poor health care at individual level has a ripple effect up the line to the image of the global society. As portrayed in Luna’s article (2003), the bilingual nurse-curanderas have a bicultural effect that offers equal chances to comprehensive health care to both the native American and Hispanics. That is, every person in the American society is equally served in terms of nursing care and is given the care in the culture of his or her liking. As nursing care has the important social aspect (CNO, 2009, p5), curanderismo provides grounds where individuals can communicate their health problems clearly and freely, receive the correct medication, choose between modern and traditional medications and thus, in the long run, manifest the best health outcomes there can be. The end result is a cultural sensitive society where the minority communities live in a socially fair environment (Carey, 2011, p261). Conclusion Nursing, being a socially ran industry and like any other industry, is today facing some difficulties in delivering related services due to multicultural settings it must operate in. In a typical modern society, there are minority communities which may be overlooked while delivering various services to the public. Moreover, some communities will not entirely fit in the working systems due to tastes and beliefs differentiation. The Hispanics in the US constitutes one such community within a miasma of many other large communities. Health-wise, the Hispanic culture in the US is being represented and complimented by the emerging bilingual nurse-curanderas with what is referred to as curanderismo, a Hispanic folk healing alternative. This way, the Hispanics living in the US are no longer restrained to only using modern treatment (which they may not like anyway) but use curanderismo as an alternative. As should be (Carey, 2011, p260), as regards the Hispanics in the US, a socially fair life at all Furnell’s model levels is portrayed. List of references Carey, R.E. (2011). Cultural Competence Assessment of Baccalaureate Nursing Students: An Integrative Review of the Literature. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(9), pp.258-261. College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). (2009). Practice Guideline – Culturally Sensitive Care. The Standard of Care, pp.3-12. Luna, E. (2003). Nurse-Curanderas: Las Que Curan at the Heart of Hispanic Culture. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 21, pp. 326-339. Sagar, P.L. (2011). Transcultural Nursing Theory and Models: Application in Nursing Education, Practice, and Administration. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Read More