The Article on the Standards of Practice for Culturally competent Nursing Care: 2011 update published in the Journal of Transcultural Nursing in 2011, looks into the practical standards that can be applied in the health care setting to ensure safe and effective health care services to the patients. The standards stated in the article reflect a global health care practice environment in terms of clinical practice, education, research as well as administration. Therefore, the standards addressed in the article address different parties for health care services which range from individuals to populations. One such party is the Military population in Pensacola, Florida area. The Pensacola, Florida area is considered a military zone where the pole position of the Military’s health protection advocates for a number of health care programs that are implemented to ensure health services are effective and safe. The standards in the health care practice also ensure that the military health services are timely, patient centered as well as equitable and efficient. This paper addresses five standards of practice for culturally competent nursing care; how the standards can be applied in the military setting to ensure ethically sound culturally appropriate nursing care.
The first standard of health care practice discussed in the article is Social Justice. This standard requires that all professional nurses ensure social justice for every person. The nurses’ decisions while delivering health care services should encourage for policies which are just for every individual or population such as the military population which is exposed to risky working conditions. The issues of social justice arise from the ethics of impartiality as well as objectives at the system level. Social justice is therefore developed by ensuring that there is fairness and equity as well as respect for every human being irrespective of their profession ensuring that while administering health care services there is tolerance as well as dignity for the patients and their respective populations as a whole. In a military setting in Pensacola, Florida area social justice should be applied to encourage equitable and efficient health services to the military personnel. Military hospitals such as the Naval Hospital in the area have always worked to ensure social justice for the military population.
The second standard is Critical reflection. It states that every nurse has to consider a critical reflection of personal aspects such as values, cultural heritage and beliefs, creating the knowledge of how these aspects can affect the delivery of culturally appropriate care. In this scenario the nurses should reflect how their personal values cultural heritage as well as beliefs affect the health services to the military considering their nature of operation. Personal aspects such the issue of ethnic groups should not be considered by the nurses while delivering culturally appropriate care to the military patients. As a nurse getting to understand the differences in cultural beliefs and values among different people as well as the nurse’s own cultural beliefs and values ensure that nursing care is appropriate. It also encourages effective health care delivery to the patient and population as well. The issues of cultural differences in the military population is likely to pose a big challenge considering the nature of the military actions. Nurses should therefore ensure critical reflection if they are to deliver a culturally appropriate care in the military hospitals like in Pensacola, Florida area.
Knowledge of Culture is the third standard in the health care practice as discussed in the Journal of Transcultural Nursing article. Nurses are obliged to ensure they grasp an understanding of the different beliefs, values and traditions among individuals and populations who they deliver health care to. They should also take into consideration the complexity in variables that that influence the delivery of health services to such individuals and populations. Nurses should learn and understand the art of assessing cultural factors as well as patterns that cause individual and population differences. Ensuring such a critical assessment in the nursing care encourages the prevention of stereotyping as well as overgeneralization hence fair and equity health services. In Pensacola Naval hospital, one of its guiding principles is to achieve diversity by encouraging the embracing of differences among patients and nursing staff to lead into collaboration as well as innovation (Pensacola, 2013).
The fourth standard of practice in the health care practice is Culturally Competent practice. This standard practice advocates for the understanding of sensitive skills in the encouraging and implementing culturally consistent nursing care. The practice of nursing care across cultures such as the military nursing care environment calls for the assessment cultural foci, physical as well as the psychological factors that have to be included while planning for health care. This cultural focus by the nursing staff entails looking into the ethical, socio-cultural as well as sociopolitical characteristics that are specifically available within the health care setting of diverse patients such as the military setting in Pensacola, Florida area. For instance, the Naval Hospital in Pensacola includes and encourages the delivery of exceptional healthcare for their patients. This is the key guiding principle in the delivery of services to the patients in Pensacola Naval Hospital. Nurses at the hospital provide critical assessment of the patients by considering psychological, cultural features as well as physical assessment. The data from the critical assessment of patients is used for planning and give priority health care, hence culturally competent practice.
The fifth standard of practice according to the Journal of Transcultural Nursing (2013) is; Cultural Competence in Health Care Systems and Organizations. This standards requires that healthcare organizations as well as agencies avail structures and resources that are fundamental in evaluation and achievement of cultural needs of the different clients for nursing care. Appropriate infrastructure in hospitals should be such that it is safe and hence culturally congruent as well as compassionate services to the clients seeking health care services. The guiding principle of health care delivery in the Naval Hospital in Pensacola encourages safety. This principle in the military hospital strive to achieve an environment, which consists of infrastructure; a setting which is safe with buildings and equipment which ensure safety and wellness for the patients as well as the staff members. Taking safety measures encourages the delivery of culturally appropriate care in the military hospitals.
In conclusion, the embracing of the standards of practice in the health care services ensures that delivery health services are culturally appropriate in military hospitals like the Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Florida area. The standards in the health care practice ensure that the military health services are timely, patient centered as well as equitable and efficient. They advocate for effectiveness and safety in the cross cultural delivery of services.
References
Lauderdale, J., Milstead, J., Nardi, D., Douglas, L., Pierce, J., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao, D., Callister, L., & Hattar-Pollara, M. (2011). Standards of Practice for Culturally Competent Nursing Care : 2011 Update. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 22(4), 317-333.
Naval Hospital Pensacola (2013, November). Mission, Vision & Guiding Principles. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/pcola/CommandLeadership/Pages/mission.aspx
Pensacola Naval Hospital. (2013). Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://themilitaryzone.com/bases/pensacola_naval_hospital.html
