The relationship that exists between a health care giver and the patient faces numerous challenges. At the fore front is the cultural challenge that exists between the patient and the healthcare giver (Brunner, Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle,& Cheever, 2009). This poses a big challenge as the healthcare giver and the patient cannot get to an understanding with regard to the healthcare that the patient is to be given. This paper will consider a case study where there is a conflict between the cultural beliefs of the patient and the healthcare given. The paper will consider several aspects of the scenario that will enhance better service delivery to the patient.
1. Describe how Christy can handle the situation better the next time she encounters a Romani patient.
Christy Fitzgerald is a troubled nurse at the Kendrick Hospital. She is in charge of a Romani girl who is a patient admitted at the hospital. She faces several challenges in the process of attending to the patient. She insists that she cannot go on taking care of the patient due to the fact that the family of the girl has traits that she cannot tolerate anymore. To begin with, they are always crowding the patients room at all times even when they are not supposed to be there. In order to solve this issue, the nurse could at least try and realize the fact that the Romani culture is based on brotherhood and consequently leaving a patient without a family member is intolerable. I believe the nurse could respectfully strike an agreement with the family that only a specific number of people can be in the room at a particular time. The nurse is also troubled by the fact that the Romani’s demand Dr. Jamieson’s audience. In this instance she could convince them to be patient and understand their loyalty and dependency on the doctor. Additionally, she is incensed by the fact that the female relatives were uncomfortable with the way she sponge bathed the young girl. Fitzgerald could try and understand why they were not agreeing to her method of sponge bathing. This was basically due to their culture that does not allow for the same material used to wash the upper body to be utilized in washing the lower body. Consequently gaining knowledge of the Romani culture would help her to deliver her services more efficiently to the people of this culture. In terms of medication (Lum,2010), she would be better off for her not to conclude that they are thieves or even liars but bear the knowledge that the Romani culture does not conform to the norms of the general population and that they are more resistant to certain societal trends such as the use of artificial methods of curing diseases.
2. Reflection on the Learning Activities.
Upon completing the learning activities, it has become evident to me that, for an efficient correlation between the patients and the healthcare givers, there is need for mutual understanding of the cultural disparity that exists. The healthcare givers should be educated on how to handle patients whose culture has reservations on the artificial means of medication. On the other hand, the concerned society needs to be informed of the procedures that are in line with medical services that are offered at health institutions.
3. Identify at least one thing an organization can do to improve its cultural competence.
An organization can improve its cultural competence by involving its staff on a routine training on how to handle clients with certain cultural inclinations. The cultural beliefs that do not allow certain medical practices to be conducted on the patient are to be critically considered and any available options that they can be safely substituted for adopted.
REFERENCES
Core Concepts in Cultural Competence. Case/Story. Available at: http://support.mchtraining.net/national_ccce/case0/case.html Retrieved on: 30th May 2012.
Lum, D. (2010). Culturally Competent Practice: A Framework for Understanding Diverse Groups and Justice Issues: Cengage Learning.
Brunner, L. S., Smeltzer, S. C., Bare, B. G., Hinkle, J. L., & Cheever, K. H. (2009). Brunner and Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
