Cultural competency in nursing refers to a health care worker’s ability to provide patients with the most effective medical treatment while simultaneously demonstrating cultural knowledge about their beliefs, race, and values. It necessitates being aware of a patient’s cultural diversity and treating them as such. Culturally competent nurses can empathize with patients more deeply, relate to them more closely, and pay attention to their needs. Patients in hospitals are frequently irritated or worried. Having someone on their care team who speaks their language or understands their background might help them relax, leading to more treatment and overall care.
Because the population is becoming increasingly varied, cultural components must be included in the nursing curriculum. Students will use theoretical and practical knowledge to combine cultural skills with evidence-based practice, helping them become more culturally competent practitioners. As a result, we may anticipate patients being treated holistically and receiving culturally appropriate care. In the mid-1950s, the groundwork for transcultural nursing was laid.
In 1950, Peplau, a nurse, was the first to propose that culture significantly affected mental health. With population shifts and migration, there has been a surge in interest in Leininger’s transcultural nursing approach. Leininger advocated for cross-cultural nursing initiatives (Chang et al., 2018). In 2017, the journal BMC Medical Ethics published a comprehensive assessment of over ten years of research on implicit bias in healthcare practitioners. Unfortunately, the data revealed that unconscious bias still exists in healthcare settings, influencing care quality and equity (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017). As a result, medical organizations and institutions must devote more attention to this problem.
Cultural competence is essential because it allows the nurse to provide the best care to each patient, resulting in excellent patient satisfaction and care. Without cultural competence, the healthcare sector will suffer a significant setback, limiting the services it can provide. Professional health providers with good background and understanding of cultural competency are less likely to hold stereotypes and think myopic ways. It also enables them to provide the most satisfactory service to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status or religious beliefs. These efforts assist them in keeping their brains open and free of preconceived views about certain cultures or regions. In every industry, more culturally competent service providers better the world. Culturally qualified nurses are essential for providing high-quality patient care, translating to better health care in every community.
References
Chang, L., Chen, S. C., & Hung, S. L. (2018). Embracing diversity and transcultural society through community health practicum among college nursing students. Nurse education in practice, 31, 156-160.
FitzGerald, C., & Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: A systematic review. BMC Medical Ethics, 18(1), 1-18. Web.