The Transcultural Nursing Society website is critical in shaping nursing healthcare practices in current society. The society has established a guiding framework in transcultural nursing. The framework is crafted to mirror comprehensive standards of practice for a cultural health care that nurses can use to lead in clinical practices, surveys, education and administration.
The standards established are anchored on social justice implying that an individual or a group is eligible to rational and equal rights and involvement in economic, social and educational practices framed in a health care environment. Consequently, by application of the principles of social justice and provision of ethnically focused health care, disparities in health care outcomes is set to reduce.
Transcultural Nursing Society (2010) points out that, shortage of nurses and ever increasing migration of the population have surged thus prompts a need to instill knowledge in nurses to deliver racially compliant and competent health care for a diverse population regardless of geographic location and demographic trend.
Transcultural Nursing Society (2010) further argues that cultural standards prevails within economic political and social systems, thus many health care institutions around the world have defined health care encompassing these systems. The disparities amongst the criterions and the setting in which principles are practiced are noted to impede a distinct set that all cultures are assured to address their needs.
The standards outlined by Transcultural Nursing Society (2010) are diverse, and they include; social knowledge of cultures, competence in cultural health care systems and institutions, patient activism and empowerment, multiracial labor force, cross cultural communications and leadership and strategy development among other standards.
Nonverbal indicators of anxiety
A nonverbal sign, which is commonly, present in patients who do not speak English is agoraphobia. This sign is characterized by the fear of open places or where help is not forthcoming. Also, a compulsion sign is evident in patients who cannot speak English.
Compulsion is an enticing instinct, wish or an urge to perform an irrational action that relieves anxiety (Andrews and Boyle, 2008). Other signs include panic attacks visible through signs such as; trembling, blushing, sweating and palpitation among other signs.
Anxiety assumes the trend of behaviors and mindset that serves as an obstacle to intercultural communication (The Office of Minority Health, 2007).
Thus, it shows fear of unknown, perceived cultural superiority and discrimination hence, to enhance effective communication with patients who do not understand English will need to collect information about their culture and background.
Office of Minority Health Recommended Standards for Nursing Health Care
Office of Minority Health has devised standards commonly known as the National Standards on culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, CLAS.
The standards have been directed towards the health care institutions, although individuals health care providers have been encouraged to apply the standards to ensure that their practices are more culturally and linguistically compliant. Some of the standards proposed by the Office of Minority Health are diverse.
One of them is that health care institutions have to ensure that the clients receive from healthcare’s staff utmost understanding and respect which is in tandem with their language, practices and cultural health beliefs (The Office of Minority Health, 2007).
Secondly, strategies for recruitment, retaining and promoting health care staff should represent demographic elements of the service area. Thirdly, the organizations should endeavor to provide continuous education and training in culture and linguistics which fits the service delivery.
Last but not the least, health care organizations, should aim at providing language assistance services. Involving bilingual staff and interpreter services at no extra costs to patients who have limited English proficiency and understanding (The Office of Minority Health, 2007).
References List
Andrews, M.M., and Boyle, J.S., (2008). Transcultural Concepts in Nursing Care. Philadelphia; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
The Office of Minority Health. (2007). National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, (CLAS). Web.
Transcultural Nursing Society (2010) Transcultural Nursing Standards of Practice. Web.