Social health determinants, including living and working conditions, are different for everyone. Health disparities can be addressed by utilizing the cultural competence of nurses. Cultural competence in nursing means delivering quality and effective care to various patients with diverse behaviors, values, beliefs, and attitudes. It is necessary to explore how nurses demonstrate cultural competence and how they gain cultural knowledge from patients to provide improved patient care.
There are several methods nurses use to gather cultural knowledge from patients. First, healthcare staff can obtain cultural information during cultural encounters where they directly engage in cross-cultural interactions with persons from diverse backgrounds. As a result, they modify current beliefs about a particular culture while preventing probable stereotyping by asking open-ended cultural questions. Second, nurses can exchange stories with patients while addressing language barriers and assumptions (Kersey-Matusiak, 2018). Telling stories can help healthcare staff to build rapport and trust, resulting in a collection of honest information.
Cultural competence allows nurses to provide better care to patients. For instance, it enhances communications, enabling healthcare organizations to keep patients safer. Effective communication facilitates the collection of accurate medical data, leading to precise diagnoses. Thus, misunderstandings and preventable mistakes are eliminated, building trust and improving patient outcomes. Additionally, culturally competent nurses respect and are conscious of patients’ differences, creating satisfying experiences (Kersey-Matusiak, 2018). Culturally competent care raises patient satisfaction, increasing the chances of sick persons following medical advice.
There are several ways nurses can demonstrate cultural competence in healthcare organizations. First, culturally competent nurses can show cultural awareness by examining themselves and approaching diverse patients with openness and cultural sensitivity. Additionally, awareness can be shown by speaking in a language that patients can easily understand and follow. Second, caregivers can show cultural competence by practicing cultural desire through active listening, overcoming language barriers, and learning about different cultures. Active listening can help patients feel validated and heard, enhancing cross-cultural communication (Kersey-Matusiak, 2018). Cultural desire allows nurses to accept new ideas and cultures.
In conclusion, it is essential to explore how nurses practice cultural competence to gain cultural knowledge and enhance patient care. Cultural knowledge can be gained through cultural encounters where nurses learn about cultural differences by asking. Additionally, caregivers can acquire cultural information by telling stories. Cultural competence allows nurses to understand diverse patients, preventing misunderstandings and improving communication. Ultimately, nurses can demonstrate cultural competence in two ways: cultural desire and awareness.
Reference
Kersey-Matusiak, G. (2018). Delivering culturally competent nursing care: Working with diverse and vulnerable populations (2nd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.