The Muslims are integrating well with people from different parts of the world. They observe certain cultural practices, which are mostly religious, that affect health care service delivery by the professionals. Nurses in such environment face various challenges in their line of duty.
Several factors come into consideration when offering care services in Islamic cultural practices and religious ties to be observed. Well-being of a patient is dependent on more than physical care given by the concerned party. Visitation of in-patient in the Muslim community is frequently done with little control if the physicians on the frequency of visiting a patient. The number of visitors is not limited and therefore crowding of the patient's room or rather space in a hospital is not much of an issue in the Muslim community (Abu-Ras, 2011). Family consultation in delivering medical services to a particular patient is a crucial aspect. The physician is expected to involve the family members of the patient even in minor issues such as drug administration.
The physician rarely limits forms of greeting. Visitors of a particular patient can hug and kiss with the patient with little consideration of the consequences such as whether it endangers one's health status once in a hospital. In the Muslim society, the nurses' get demoralized so fast as many patients tend to believe that healing only comes from Allah (God) (Ehlers, 2009). No matter the efforts shown by the caregiver, little appreciation for the efforts is granted to the caregiver.
Caring of patients in a Muslim setting is gender sensitive. This is strict especially when it comes to aged patients. An older man is not comfortable being attended by a female nurse and the vice versa. Such cultural ties call for gender diversity in the health care facility setup in such a society. Cultural belief also poses some challenge to the physicians while prescribing drugs to patients. Pork in the Muslim society is considered unclean and cannot be consumed. Therefore, drugs with components from pigs cannot be administered to a Muslim patient, and an alternative has to be found.
In conclusion, for better delivery for services, it is vital that an individual understands the environment and the people. Caring of a patient is more than physical care but rather emotional care and satisfaction for proper and faster healing.
References
Ehlers, V. J. (Prof.), Hattingh, S. P. (Prof.), Sidumo, Euginia Motlalepule. (2009). An investigation into the Saudi Arabian cultural knowledge among non-Muslim nurses working in the obstetric units. (http: //hdl.handle.net/10500/798.
Abu-Ras, W., & Laird, L. (2011). How Muslim and Non-Muslim Chaplains Serve Muslim Patients? Does the Interfaith Chaplaincy Model have Room for Muslims’ Experiences? Journal of Religion & Health. doi:10.1007/s10943-010-9357-4
