In my understanding, cultural competency involves appreciating different cultures and working effectively according to their principles. It helps to learn, communicate, and work together with people from other cultures politely. Since persons come from different backgrounds, it is essential to respect their philosophies. The development of cultural competency relies on the way of life of different individuals from various communities (Bhattacharya et al., 2007). In organizations, leaders yearn to create a culturally competent agency to satisfy the diverse societies being served. Exclusively, a person may be culturally competent through attending training sessions and learning the traditions and customs of other communities.
Individually, I am culturally competent in various ways. Being a healthcare worker, I interact with many patients from different cultures. It helps me understand their way of being and the best ways to approach them. I also like learning about different beliefs to understand other people’s perceptions of various activities. I speak two languages, English and Spanish, which helps me interact well with my Latino friends by communicating fluently. In addition, I like playing musical instruments like guitar, piano, and accordion. Through the musical instruments, I come across different musical styles that help me understand the songs from different cultures love. I have therefore developed many skills required to interact with other people from different cultures, especially at the workplace.
Moreover, I express my competence to persons from different beliefs in various ways. For instance, in the first scenario, Kevin Jones convinces the young Iranian woman to participate in the game, but the girl replies that she is too weak since she is fasting. However, Kevin admonishes her for not eating and does not understand that she is a Muslim and that it was Ramadhan (Bhattacharya et al., 2007). However, later on, Jones realized it and apologized to the young lady. In the second case, Sara thinks that the round abrasions on the child’s chest result from abuse, and so, she is about to report the parents for child abuse (Bhattacharya et al., 2007). Later, she understands why those marks are there, so she did learn something about these people’s cultures. To avoid such faults, I can express my cultural competence by understanding the reason behind specific behavior among people before judging them. Also, interacting closely with different cultures allows me to comprehend their ways of life. For instance, when Ramadhan begins and ends, including other behaviors. This way, therefore, helps to avoid misjudging people due to their cultural values.
Reference
Bhattacharya, J., Olsen, L., & Scharf, A. (2007).Cultural Competency: What It Is and Why It Matters. California. Web.