Introduction
It is valuable and necessary for nurse practitioners to assess the cultural practices, beliefs, and values of their patients to achieve positive outcomes by individualizing care in a better way. Therefore, a brief cultural assessment allowed us to gain an understanding of Sara’s specific healthcare needs. First of all, she needs to get a particular diagnosis that will be based on all her symptoms and problems, namely, HIV, drugs, and bipolar disease. Further, the nurse practitioner and Sara need to create mutual trust so that the treatment plan is more effective. Finally, it is essential to simultaneously provide her with treatment and proper health education as it is evident that Sara lacks one.
Reflection
At first, communication with Sara made me feel uncomfortable as I became annoyed and angry at her for letting her kids live such a miserable life. I forgot that numerous factors influence people’s lives and almost started subconsciously blaming her for not taking control of her life and achieving success after escaping her country and coming to America. However, when I remembered that Sara was a refugee from Somalia – a hazardous country where women are not treated with respect, I immediately started regretting my attitude based on Sara’s appearance and actions and felt admiration for her desire to be cured. I had certain biases that refugees immediately get a new life and a fresh start when getting to the U.S., though I know that it is not true and am unpleasantly surprised by having these stereotypes. Moreover, I have discovered that I was sure that mothers had to make their lives much better after having their kids. Certainly, this is not correct and always depends on circumstances.
To overcome these biases, I am going to remind myself of the differences between people and their experiences, as well as the influence our native countries have on our lives. Acknowledging having these stereotypes is also a key component of becoming a biased-free nursing practitioner (Bucknor-Ferron & Zagaja, 2016). I will also try to communicate with more diverse people to get acquainted with their varieties and points of view while showing them more empathy and being the patient’s advocates are other necessary steps (Bucknor-Ferron & Zagaja, 2016, pp. 61-62).
Cultural Competency
Campinha-Bacote model is the best cultural competency model that can be used to implement proper care for Sara. According to this framework, “to achieve cultural competence, a nurse must undertake a process of developing the capacity to deliver efficient and high-quality care, a process that encompasses five components” (Albougami et al., 2016, p. 3). These components are cultural awareness, cultural skill, cultural knowledge, cultural encounter, and cultural desire. Since this model perceives such competence “not as a consequence brought about by certain factors, but as a process,” it is easier to undergo these changes step by step and become a biased-free medical worker (Albougami et al., 2016, p. 3).
It is possible to identify Sara as a part of a changing demographic population of interest of homeless and unemployed African American women under the age of thirty. This population needs fair treatment and additional help to find a proper home and job. They also need to be protected from violence and rape risks. When caring for this population, it is crucial to consider language barriers and cultural differences in communication.
Conclusion
To conclude, one may say that being culturally competent is not as easy as it may seem. Even those people who are free of stereotypes in real life may have explicit and implicit biases when communicating with patients. Therefore, it is essential to educate oneself and always strive to perceive people with empathy, and not from the point of view of different stereotypes. This is also crucial for medical workers as it allows them to create an appropriate and effective healthcare plan.
References
Albougami, A. S., Pounds, K. G., & Alotaibi, J. S. (2016). Comparison of four cultural competence models in transcultural nursing: A discussion paper. International Archives of Nursing and Health Care, 2(4), 1-5.
Bucknor-Ferron, P., & Zagaja, L. (2016). Five strategies to combat unconscious bias. Nursing, 46(11), 61–62.