With every passing year, the population of the United States is becoming more ethnically and culturally diverse. As the number of minority groups is continuously growing, cultural competence should be applied in all spheres of life. Cultural competence is essential in the health service as competent care is based on the principles of human rights and justice. Proper medical help is guaranteed to all people by law regardless of their religion, ethnicity, and social status (Douglas et al., 2014).
Professional physicians and nurses should be aware of how to provide medical treatment and care to patients with different religious beliefs, values, and attitudes towards health and diseases. The lack of culturally competent healthcare workers is currently observed as the meeting of culturally diverse patients’ needs is challenging. Nursing professionals should work collaboratively, develop linguistic skills, and interact with various cultures to develop their cultural competence and provide effective care for people from various cultural backgrounds.
Cultural competence in nursing is highly significant as nurses’ culture may differ from patients’ culture, and culturally incompetent care may be ineffective and wasteful. According to the principles of cultural competence, care should be appropriate for the specific client, and it should focus on the peculiarities of the patient’s culture (Dayer-Berenson, 2014). Care is provided taking into consideration the patient’s values and beliefs, and it implicates the support of the client’s decision-making (Dayer-Berenson, 2014).
Professional nurses should be sensitive and respectful of cultural diversity, and they should examine and integrate the values, religious aspects, and beliefs of culturally diverse patients on a professional level. Nursing should be currently responsible for the attempts to change negative behavior and eliminate prejudice against minorities in other citizens and medical staff as well.
References
Dayer-Berenson, L. (2014). Cultural competencies for nurses: Impact on health and illness (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Douglas, M. K., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao D. F., Callister, L. C., Hattar-Pollara, M., Lauderdale, J., … Purnell, L. (2014). Guidelines for implementing culturally competent nursing care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 25(2), 109-121. Web.