Introduction
It is no secret that to understand better a patient’s condition and the nature of their experiences, a medical expert needs to know about a person’s characteristics in the context of the influence of several factors such as culture, social environment, religion, origin, and others. Moreover, there are cases when a client does not speak English, and a medic’s task, in this case, is to offer auxiliaries for speech translation (Montefiore, 2007). Based on these moments, patients’ satisfaction with medical care and positive treatment results directly depend on a medic’s actions to learn as much important information as possible about patients’ backgrounds and the culture they interact with. In this paper, using the example of my culture, ethnicity, and religion, I explore issues related to cultural competence in healthcare. Culturally competent medical care is associated mainly with a healthcare provider’s understanding of a patient and their culture.
Analysis
My Own Culture
I belong to the United States and the Dominican Republic cultures simultaneously. In this case, I am the heir of a dual culture and know myself as part of American and Dominican traditions and customs. I respect these states’ people and history, being proud of my Hispanic roots and the country where I live. At the moment, I am in New York City, whose culture continues to be reflected in its size and ethnic diversity.
The above information will be helpful for a medical specialist in terms of implementing high-quality and safe care for me as a health consumer. In particular, this information is essential considering understanding legal obligations and requirements for meeting communication needs appropriately (Montefiore, 2007). It should be remembered that biculturalism is a phenomenon that is ubiquitous in the American healthcare system at the micro, meso, and macro levels.
Conclusion
To provide culturally competent medical care, a healthcare provider must collect information about my background, beliefs, values, behavior, language preferences, ethnicity, race, religion, and much more. Medics understand how the impact of these aspects on human health and condition is huge, and the information received from a patient during the survey should be considered for a more comprehensive approach to treating and preventing diseases. Using the example of Montefiore, one can see how clear and coordinated information management in the healthcare system is bringing good treatment results to populations with different cultural experiences (Chase, 2010).
References
Chase, D. (2010). Montefiore medical center: Integrated care delivery for vulnerable populations. The Commonwealth Fund. Web.
Montefiore. (2007). Interpreting services program [PowerPoint slides]. Web.
Nash, D.B., Skoufalos, A., Fabius, R.J., Oglesby, W.H. (2021). Population health: Creating a culture of wellness (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.