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The nursing profession is one of the few professions that allows for a culturally diverse interaction on a daily basis. Given this facet of the profession, it has become wholly necessary that nurse gain competency in responding to their call of duty with utmost level of cultural competence. Aside from catering to a culturally diverse clientele, it should be taken into consideration that the profession also offers a delicate and highly customized care plan unique to every patient noting differences in the patient’s condition, culture, religious beliefs and capacities. In lieu with this, this paper would like to offer an extensive review and analysis of the interaction and compliance to the delivery of the appropriate healthcare service to a Filipino patient taking careful consideration of the patient’s cultural influences. In hindsight, this paper will discuss five areas from the Filipino culture that influences nursing care. In addition, it will enumerate how care providers can offer competent care within the cultural context, and how learning affects nursing care of individuals from different cultures.
In the previous assignment I documented an incident that allowed me to handle a Filipino nurse, a middle-aged lady named S.A. She was interviewed in an effort to understand the dynamics of the Filipino culture. As mentioned earlier, nursing is a profession that requires the professionals to customize the service according to the patient’s needs and their demographic characteristics. The Filipino culture is perhaps one of the most elaborate and highly traditional culture. In fact, many Filipinos hold their traditions, personal beliefs and practices close to their heart that regardless of the technological advancement and modernization, their values and heritage can still be traced by simply observing how they behave and respond.
Nursing care can be affected by various aspects of the Filipino culture given the different ways that they perceive various aspects of nursing practice. Filipinos value education among the top priorities that every individual should ideally possess. When we say “ideally” we mean that while it is considered extremely important, there are incidence in which not everyone is given the opportunity to pursue and complete their education because of several environmental forces like poverty. Hence, one area of nursing that affect nursing care for an individual of the Filipino culture is education. Given this understanding, it only reflects that Filipinos are among the most educated and the most communicative culture. This only implies that they most often than not requires a more elaborate discussion of procedures as well presentation of their conditions. Filipinos are knowledgeable and they are very conversant which make the delivery of healthcare service more efficient. Nevertheless, while many are sensitive to the demands of the healthcare profession, it is still necessary to foster a degree of standardization as far as terminologies and abbreviations are concerned.
In an article published at the American Nurses Association narrates, there is the great demand that the clamor towards the globalization of education, nursing has remained as highly regulated profession although it is important to establish a common curriculum and training system that encompasses all the cultures while also maintaining a common standard of nursing . The author of the article cites the need to include acculturation among the Filipino nurses in the US to help them adjust to the demands of the profession as applied in the country and state where they are serving. Possession of certain specific competencies is also important in nursing because it ensures equality and quality of care throughout the nursing practice irrespective of the culture of an individual. Standardization of nursing terms and practices in nursing also ensures the efficiency of delivery of care to individuals of different cultures. Moreover, evidence based care can impact the nursing care for Filipinos because their culture appears to put them on the line of same nursing issues. This means that having knowledge of an individual’s culture can help the nursing practice by providing nurses with critically appraised and scientifically proven methods to use within the parameters of the culture in context.
Additionally, nursing leadership too, affects nursing care offered to Filipinos. Nursing leadership helps in achievement of goals and objectives of nursing. Without leadership, the profession would be a disorganized, with overriding roles, and constant conflicts. Nursing leaders act as directors, delegates and advocates of the nursing staff as well as for the patients. They are responsible for implementing various strategies to improve on the provision of care for the patients, while at the same time, maintaining good working conditions for the nurses. Filipinos are a minority in nursing profession. Despite so, Filipinos are adaptive and they easily understands. Nursing leaders can make changes and implementations in lifting the barriers that make the Filipino nurse a minority . Such changes can enhance absorption of Filipino individuals into the profession, increasing their numbers in the profession. At the same time, nursing leaders can act as advocates for the Filipino individuals through enhancing provision of specialized care towards the community.
Patient safety is also an important aspect of nursing that can affect nursing care within the realm of Filipino culture. Nursing practice not only purposes to restore the health of a patient, but also insists on maintain the health of such individuals. Patient safety encompasses a patient’s wellbeing not only inside the hospital, but also after hospital. Empowering a patient and their families with information on management of illnesses and other safety practices can significantly impact the nursing care . Healthy eating and exercising can go a long way in improving the safety of the patients as well as in reduction of incidences of illnesses brought about by certain cultures. Ensuring patient safety cuts across the nursing care and specifically, the nursing leadership whereby strategies to improve nursing care are developed and implemented. As nurse leaders, giving patient safety priority regardless of the cultures is imperative in ensuring equality in care provision as well as provision of quality care to the patients.
Another point that affects nursing care for an individual of the Filipino culture is communication. To develop effective strategies in nursing, communication is of importance because it provides the channels of sharing information. Therefore, well developed and established communication channels that allow easy sharing of information across nursing care is important not only among the nursing practitioners and the patients, but also among the nursing professionals. Communication facilitates learning and development, hence, establishment of good communication channels enhances learning for the nurses as well as for the patients . Although most of the Filipinos can comfortably hear and speak English, not all of them are fluent in the same. The nursing care should establish measures to lift communication barriers between the nursing care and the Filipino community. This will consequently lead to enhanced communication and sharing of information, which can assist in improving care and delivery of services.
The grieving process/procedure for the Filipinos is another nursing aspect that can affect nursing care for a Filipino individual. In nursing, the loss of a patient, as hard as nursing work to avoid it, is inevitable. It is the responsibility of the nursing care to prepare the families of such individuals for such losses and also to help such families get over such losses. The Filipino community have their own ways of dealing and handling grief and loss of a loved one. However, this doesn’t relieve the nursing care of their responsibility for helping people from this community get over the loss of a loved one. As observed, Filipinos value life and believe that life begins at conception. However, there may come a time when the life of one, e.g. a mother, depends on the termination of another, e.g. that of a fetus. In such dilemmas, the nursing care should be guided by nursing ethics, while at the same time offering compassion to the affected individuals by making sure they understand the dynamics of the events. Respecting and understanding the culture of the Filipinos affects the nursing care in that some beliefs and cultural practices may differ with nurses’.
Overall, the Filipinos can be one of highly stereotyped groups because of the long history that they have been. Needless to say, the Philippines have already surpassed the dark ages of their bondage. The economy has been prospering and today more than ever, the status of health care and the health awareness of the people have significantly improved. While common ritualistic practices of herbal medicines, quack doctors and all sort of healing rituals are still very much alive, it is now an alternative or a supplementary to the scientific practice of medicine.
Cultural Competency Quiz
Appreciation and understanding of the different cultures is of importance to the nursing practice if the nursing practitioners are to impart culturally competent care. The cultural competency quiz helped me build more confidence on handling multicultural clients. However, growth and development is required to build on the existing knowledge, so as to improve on my performance on cultural competence. Cultural competence is important for those who wish to pursue advocacy. My cultural competency has changed positively because I now understand and respect the diverse cultures of client, beliefs and practices. Understanding cultural competency changed the way I perceive cultural norms that may influence communication in many ways such as eye contact, interpersonal space, use of gestures, greetings, humor, turn-taking and decision making roles. The cultural competency quiz has helped enhance the judging abilities, knowledge, knowledge about diverse cultures, and ways and treatment of an advocate to his clients .
Positive Learning Affects Nursing Care of Individuals from Diverse Cultures
The ability to understand and accommodate diverse cultures is vital in providing care for the multicultural communities, a phenomenon which is currently on the rise. The nursing practice is faced with the challenge of accommodating all the cultural differences in providing care . Therefore, it is important for the nurses to adopt the cultural competency in order for them to better understand the different cultural differences when providing care. This learning can positively affect the nursing care of people from multicultural backgrounds by helping me better understand their cultural needs like their spirituality, their nutritional needs, beliefs and values on health care practices, high risk behaviors, family roles and organization and communication among other cultural aspects. Understanding these aspects is also vital in provision of personalized care to the target communities. Holistic care focuses of restoring physical, emotional and spiritual health of a patient. Cultural competency enhances skills that aid in provision of holistic care . A nursing practitioner understands what a patient from a different culture expects in terms of care; hence, he or she is able to provide holistic and quality care to the patient irrespective of the cultural differences between the care provider and the patient. Understanding the cultural needs of various communities is also important in providing quality care to the patients and also helps in avoiding moral dilemmas between the care givers and the patients
Conclusion
In conclusion, possessing a set of personal and academic skills required for increasing understanding and appreciation of cultural differences is important for the nursing practice because it facilitates provision of quality and culturally competent care. Learning about cultural competences has also helped in identifying areas that can affect the nursing practice and how the nursing practice can accommodate the cultural impacts. Explored in this paper were the different areas of the Filipino culture that can affect the nursing practice and how the nursing practice can accommodate these changes. The paper also explored the cultural competency quiz and how it can positively contribute to nursing care of individuals from diverse cultures. As explained in the paper, cultural competency facilitates provision of quality and holistic care to multicultural communities.
References
Anderson, L., Scrimshaw, S., Fullilove, M., Fielding, J., & Normand, J. (2003). Culturally Competent Healthcare Systems. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 68-79. Retrieved from The Community Guide Organization Website: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/social/soc-AJPM-evrev-healthcare-systems.pdf
Ceniza-Choy, C. (2003). Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Ea, E. (2008, January 8). Facilitating Acculturation of Foreign-Educated Nurses. Retrieved from American Nurses Association: http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/vol132008/No1Jan08/ArticlePreviousTopic/ForeignEducatedNurses.html
Purnell, L. (2012). Transcultural Health Care: A Culturally Competent Approach. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: F.A. Davis Publishing.
