Cultural nursing Essay

Australia is home to one of the most heathenly diverse populations in the world, and the population continues to grow (National Health and medical checkup seek Council, 2006). This expanding diversity creates a potpourri of heathenish attitudes, beliefs and values unlike the predominate Westernised view. The pagan differences impact on how people interpret and experience end-of-life in the country. Customary practices of lovingness for the terminally ill that permeates in most African communities differ vastly from that of Australians individualistic socialization (Hiruy & Mwanri, 2013). African culture is of a leftistic record whereby autonomy is devalued and the communities or families argon expected to fearfulness for the sick. As with most pagan nonage groups, this culture can become altered or suppressed when subjected to the influences of other overriding culture (Kir mayer, 2012).For these reasons, the aim of the paper is to facilitate an understanding of the mov ement to achieve culturally adapted mission. This paper begins with a description of an fundamental interaction between a assimilator shield who held a western erect of values and a patient of African origin. The paper then discusses the cultural biasness against the minority group as well as the post relationships entangled resulting in the suppression of the African end of life practices. A thoughtful discussion regarding the best approach to deliver culturally capable apportion during the interaction will also be presented.Case reachTalib (pseudonym) was an African man in his 80s who was transferred to the alleviatory care guard following an circumstance of cardiac arrest. When the scholarly soul nurse first encountered Talib and his family, they appeared to be reserved and unplowed to themselves most of the time. Talibs family took on the task of breast feeding Talib and refused to leave him whole yet during the night shift. Talibs family members also regularl y communicated on behalf of Talib even though the patient was fluent in English. Accordingly, the learner nurses provision of care for care was limited. The first day of Talibs carry on on the ward also power saw the arrival of over 80 visitors. In African culture, members of the conjunction are expected to visit and give birth their levers to someone nearing the end of life (Hiruy & Mwanri, 2013). This practice is especially important in Talibs instance as he was a well-respected attracter ofhis community.Though the intentions of these visitors were directed by their culture, the norms of the ward did not permit such practices. Initially, the ward tried to fit the sudden influx of visitors. Other nurses were compound with the additional task of crowd- run intoling and reminding the visitors to be considerate of other patients. As the visitors became to a greater extent disruptive and unmanageable, hospital security was phoneed in to escort them off. Moreover, the sheer minute of visitors arriving to pay their respects was exhausting Talib who appeared to be fatiguing and sleeping finishedout these visits. The student nurse and her preceptor discussed with the family regarding the regulation of visitors. This created conflicts at heart the family as Talibs girl felt her father needed some respite from the visitors. However, Talibs baby wanted him to receive a send-off that was worthy of his status. The situation was contained when the student nurse and her preceptor raised the issue with the medical practitioners who imposed a restriction on the tot of visitors allowed. ethnic biasness and its impactEach person is a bearer of his or her own culture, values and attitudes and hence is subjected to ethnocentric tendencies and cultural imposition (Wells, 2000). In an interview of over 90 English nurses, ethnocentric practices and cultural biasness against ethnic minority group were still report in current nursing practices (Vydelingum, 200 6). Self-assessment can pave the behavior to caring effectively for a patient or family from another(prenominal) culture as wellnesscare providers develop culturally sensitivity to differences (Calvillo et al., 2009). Nurses who cultivate a clothe of reflecting on their own cultural values, attitudes, beliefs and practices will be more apprised of the influence of their own culture on naturalise practices (Culley, 2006). When nursing the culturally different, nurses need to perceive and understand the significance of those differences and how that can be responded to inside the nursing practice.Within the Australian context, there is a focus on the empowerment of patients (Williamson & Harrison, 2010). While involving patients with healthcare discussions is a step towards attaining empowerment, this may not be the case in a collectivistic culture. M whatever cultures do not share theprincipal value of individualism (Davis, 1999). In collectivist cultures, individuals do not conc ern themselves with healthcare decisions, instead family members or community are often the designated arbiters (Kanitsaki, 2003). As Talibs cultural practice dictates that the duty of his care belongs to his family, the student found it difficult to engage with the patient and his family and turn over a therapeutic relationship with them. The student was also frustrated at the lack of opportunities to communicate directly with Talib. She felt that she was not able to let out his healthcare needfully and thus, not able to deliver any nursing care.In addition, the student nurse also received a culture shock with regards to the response of the community. The number of people who poured in to visit Talib was beyond her comprehension. Due to the lack of exposure to such encounters, the student was uncertain with regards to manipulation the situation. She was more familiar with her Western ways of grieving and took that as a benchmark for normalcy. This belief is fortified by other patients and their family on the ward who were principal(prenominal)ly of Australian descent. When a persons customs are threatened by other unfamiliar cultural practices, he or she can become defensive and dwell on their own ethnocentric values (Ruddock & Turner, 2007). Undeniably, the student nurse was affected by the incongruence in culture. She was ab initio puzzled but reported feeling annoyance as she saw visitors actions as disturbances rather than cultural practices.Power relationshipsGiven the hierarchical nature of the health care setting, asymmetrical power is present throughout any level of relationships including organisational and individual (Ramsden, 2002). The professional culture as set out by the hospital privileges ritualised routine care, leaving little room for nurses to work in a culturally safe manner (Richardson & MacGibbon, 2010). The power dissymmetry further pervades at the individual level as nurses have an subjective role power over patients (Kuokkan en & Leino-Kilpi, 2000). This power often underpinned the nurses professional practices and interactions. In inn for patients to receive effective healthcare, nurses have the responsibility to analyse and understand these power relationships. Powerimbalances should be managed to avoid isolating patients and promote ingenuous nursing care. Even so, nurses will still make the conscious decision to exercise their power as a form of domination which occurred in Talibs situation (Gallant, Beaulieu, & Carnevale, 2002).Power relationships in the above case study involved two the institution and the nurses which interplayed with each other. The most obvious operator of control was the institution. In the name of patient safety and enforcement of order in the ward, hospitals will put in force policies and guidelines which are carried out by the employees. This inadvertently or advertently dictates the actions of nurses and impacts on their decision-making and nursing care (Kuokkanen & Le ino-Kilpi, 2000). The cultural need of Talib and his community, however, presented a major challenge to upholding order and control in spite of appearance the ward. Consequently, the cultural practice was overruled in favour of preserving the ward environment. The nurses in the case study were causationised to regulate the behaviours of patients and their visitors. Talib and his community were subjected to the nurses power to enforce hospital guidelines and polices when the visitors were forced out of the ward by hospital security.The decision to call in security was solely that of the nurses without any prior notice to Talib and his community. The author and her preceptor also brought up the idea of imposing restrictions on the influx of visitors to the medical practitioners. While the doctors order to restrict the number of visitors was made in consultation with Talibs daughter, it was hardly the consensus of other family members. The stipulation to the visitor restriction may be an attempt to avoid another confrontation with security by assimilating into the hospital culture period compromising on their cultural practice. In this manner, the African community was disempowered by both healthcare providers and institutions.Lessons learnt heathenishly safe care has its basis in cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity (Phiri, Dietsch, & Bonner, 2010). The ability to be culturally sensitive is developed from openness towards cultural diversity and respect for these differences (Campinha-Bacote, 2003). Appreciating the implicit in(p) forces that drive certain cultural practices can also contribute to growing cultural sensitivity (Ramsden, 2002). Thus, for nurses to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are pertinent to the delivery of culturally safe care that is congruent with the patients needs, they have to differentiate the patients cultural system and norms. Nurses will need to be aware of their own prejudices to circumvent stereotyping and categorising which can affect their approach towards the word sense of culturally different end-of-life practices (Chenowethm, Jeon, Goff, & Burke, 2006).The understanding of a culture should not be confined to rituals, customs and practices of a group alone. Learning well-nigh a single aspect of one culture does not provide sharpness into the complexity of peoples behaviours their cultural realities (Duffy, 2001). In reality, culture is confused and difficult to define. In order to maintain cultural safety and accommodate for cultural differences without disregarding diversity and individual considerations, nurses have to move away(p) from a checklist approach to provision of care (Peiris, Brown, & Cass, 2008). Individual variations exist within each ethnic group. Talibs daughter decided to put the health of her father above that of her cultural practices and against the wishes of other family members. Therefore, nurses have to tailor their care accordingly while respectin g the overall cultural-defined norms and allowing for those individual differences.Provision of culturally competent careCulturally competent care is supported by both communication and recognition of diversity within and between groups of culture (Nursing Council of bracing Zealand, 2011). In line with this concept, Andrews and Boyle proposed that nurses need to throw certain skills in order to deliver culturally competent care (Andrews & Boyle, 2008). Cultural self-assessment and addressing communication needs are two of the skills that are applicable to this case study. When caring for culturally diverse patients, nurses have a higher tendency to display inadequacy in their communication (Donnelly, 2000). Misconceptions regarding these patients can arise, breaking winding to a lack of respect for those with cultural values different from ones own. This was manifested by the student nurse who was in effect demonstrating ethnocentrism. She made a fallible shrewdness of viewing Talibs culturalpractices from the dominant cultural lens.By believe that the only way to identify Talibs healthcare needs was through the patient without considering his family and community was characteristic of an individualistic view. In addition, the student nurses ethnocentric view of Western bereavement culture as proper and rational, while the African culture was disruptive was indicative of a racist undertone. It was important to acknowledge the patients ownership and control over their cultural knowledge, customs and beliefs and recognise these as the reality (Karnilowicz, 2011). The student nurse should have communicated with Talibs family members with regards to their needs as they are the main decision makers in Talibs health care. In addition, the nurses took matters into their own custody by deciding to impose visitor restrictions and kicking the visitors out. A more culturally sensitive method is to discuss with Talibs family as they may be able to negotiate and con trol their visitors in a way that is less degrading than expelling them from the ward.ConclusionCulture has a pronounce influence on how patients, their families and healthcare providers view end-of-life experiences. Understanding the cultural differences could prove the cultural competence and culturally safe practices of nurses. This article has attempted to assoil some of the cultural differences displayed by Africans living in Australia and how these may lead to diverged end of life needs in these communities. These differences have implications for how appropriate palliative care can be provided to them. Before attempting to accommodate to those differences, it is imperative that nurses possess cultural awareness through recognising their own cultural realities and prejudices.Understanding the power relations played out in the hospital setting is a step towards enhancing the implementation of culturally safe care. Apart from the inherent potency nurses have over patients, in stitutions also have bearing over how nurses uphold these powers leading to suppression of certain cultural practices. It is necessary for systems and individuals to learn about the customary beliefs of the patient and avoid generalising patients who belong to the same culture as individual differences exist. By acknowledging the various cultures and their norms, it is anticipated that the provision of culturallycompetent end-of-life care to these ethnic minority groups can be attained.ReferenceAndrews, M. M., & Boyle, J. S. (2008). transcultural Concepts in Nursing Care Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Calvillo, E., Clark, L., Ballantyne, J. E., Pacquiao, D., Purnell, L. D., & Villarruel, A. M. (2009). Cultural competency in baccalaureate nursing reading. journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20(2), 137-145. Campinha-Bacote, J. (2003). Many faces Addressing diversity in health care. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 8(1), 3. Chenowethm, L., Jeon, Y. H., Goff, M ., & Burke, C. (2006). Cultural competency and nursing care an Australian perspective. International Nursing Review, 53(1), 34-40. inside 10.1111/j.1466-7657.2006.00441.x Culley, L. (2006). Transcending transculturalism? Race, ethnicity and health-care. Nursing inquiry, 13(2), 144-153. doi 10.1111/j.1440-1800.2006.00311.x Davis, A. J. (1999). world-wide influence of American nursing Some ethical issues. Nursing ethics, 6(2), 118-125. Donnelly, P. L. (2000). Ethics and cross-cultural nursing. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 11(2), 119-126. Duffy, M. E. (2001). A critique of cultural education in nursing. Journal of advanced nursing, 36(4), 487-495. Gallant, M. H., Beaulieu, M. C., & Carnevale, F. A. (2002). Partnership An analysis of the concept within the nurseclient relationship. Journal of advanced nursing, 40(2), 149-157. doi 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02357.x Hiruy, K., & Mwanri, L. (2013). End-of-life experiences and expectations of Africans in Australia Cultural implications for palliative and hospice care. Nursing Ethics. doi 10.1177/0969733012475252 Kanitsaki, O. (2003). Foreword Transcultural nursing and thought-provoking the status quo. Contemporary Nurse, 15(3), v-x. doi 10.5172/conu.15.3.v Karnilowicz, W. (2011). Identity and psychological ownership in chronic illness and disease state. European journal of cancer care, 20(2), 276-282. doi 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2010.01220.x Kirmayer, L. J. (2012). Cultural competence and evidence-based practice in mental health epistemic communities and the politics of pluralism. Social Science & Medicine, 75(2), 249-256. Kuokkanen, L., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2000).Power and empowerment in nursing Three theoretical approaches. Journal ofadvanced nursing, 31(1), 235-241. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2006). Cultural competency in health A guide for policy, partnerships and participation. Canberra, Australia Retrieved from http//www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/hp19.pdf. Nursing Co uncil of New Zealand. (2011). Guidelines for cultural safety, the Treaty of Waitangi, and Maori health in nursing and midwifery education and practice. Wellington Nursing Council of New Zealand. Peiris, D., Brown, A., & Cass, A. (2008). Addressing inequities in entrance fee to quality health care for indigenous people. Canadian Medical companionship Journal, 179(10), 985-986. Phiri, J., Dietsch, E., & Bonner, A. (2010). Cultural safety and its importance for Australian midwifery practice. Collegian, 17(3), 105-111. doi http//dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2009.11.001 Ramsden, I. (2002). Cultural safety and nursing education in Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. Doctor of Philosophy, capital of Seychelles University of Wellington. Richardson, F., & MacGibbon, L. (2010). Cultural safety Nurses account of negotiating the order of things. New Zealand Womens Studies Journal, 24(2), 54-65. Ruddock, H. C., & Turner, D. S. (2007). ontogenesis cultural sensitivity Nursing students experiences of a s tudy abroad programme. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 59(4), 361-369. doi 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04312.x Vydelingum, V. (2006). Nurses experiences of caring for South Asian minority ethnic patients in a general hospital in England. Nursing Inquiry, 13(1), 23-32. Wells, M. I. (2000). beyond cultural competence A model for individual and institutional cultural development. Journal of community health nursing, 17(4), 189-199. Williamson, M., & Harrison, L. (2010). Providing culturally appropriate care A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(6), 761-769. doi http//dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.12.012