Matters concerning race and ethnicity often present significant challenges even in the medical field while taking a patient’s history. Various socio-political, cultural, and geographic forces shape race and ethnicity, making them dynamic. Indicating a patient’s correct racial background may help understand specific predispositions to disease among different races, inequalities and disparities in health (aiding in timely diagnosis), and even particular adverse drug reactions. Thus, the nurse in the case study must find appropriate means of ascertaining a patient’s race when in doubt but not fill in the wrong details, which may result in erroneous treatment outcomes.
Requesting for race information may not affect healthcare workers much because they understand the value of such data in medical history taking. Jevon et al. (2020) note, however, that there are specific terms that may irk even care professionals, such as the use of derogative terms that refer to a race (p. 17). Therefore, it is essential to find acceptable words for any given race. Nevertheless, family members and the patient may be unaware of the role of race in history taking. The newly graduated nurse should first explain to the patient (if conscious and aware of the surroundings) or the family the importance of recording the data.
The registered nurse should introduce themselves and create a good rapport with the patient (or family) first to establish their trust. After that, the nurse proceeds to note that s/he noticed the race section was blank and explains the value of such data to the uninformed patient and their relatives. Explanations are crucial in creating mutual understanding between the care professional and the patient (Jevon et al., 2020, p. 15).
Moreover, the nurse practitioner may wrongly assume that a patient is of African descent, leading to ill feelings in some instances. Hence, after explaining to the patient or the relatives the value of noting down the data, the nurse should allow room for the patient/ family members to pick the right word to describe their race. Thus, the family/ patient uses the word most appropriate for them without any offense, and the care provider obtains the necessary information. Open-ended questions and some close-ended questions may prove helpful in gleaning data on the racial profile of a patient without being offensive. Creating a rapport, establishing trust, and allowing the patient/ family to lead the process are valuable approaches.
Reference
Jevon, P., Odogwu, S., Pepper, J., & Coleman, J. J. (2020). In History taking and communication skills (pp. 14-18). Wiley Blackwell.