Relationships and Expectations in Nursing - Essay Example

1. Describe how Christy can handle the situation better the next time she encounters a Romani patient.

            After supposedly being exposed to the in-service seminars aimed at developing cultural competency in the health setting, as conducted by Jacqueline Strong, Christy can handle the situation better the next time she encounters a Romani patient by doing the following: (1) being courteous in communicating with the members of the family, especially being made aware of the male member who  is identified to be the decision-maker; (2) ensuring that an allotted room for the family members are provided and appropriate sanitary precautions have been provided; (3) addressing the patient by the name and observing adherence to traditions and customs, like the need to use separate washcloths and bar soaps when cleaning the patients’ body; (4) observing the need to avoid touching surfaces in the rooms of Roma; (5) being sensitive to the fact that Romani elders may not read, as learned from the series of seminars and to make the necessary accommodations to address this; (6) ensure that the family members have been accorded flexible billing programs which would allow Romani patients to pay their bills over time; and (7) observing adherence to appropriate mores when communicating with members of the opposite sex.

            Likewise, Christy must be able to make a comprehensive assessment of the patient and be sensitive to the fact the being taken to the hospital was the last resort for Romani families. Therefore, it could be expected that addressing the health requirements of the patient and the relatives would be challenging; but, since Christy would have learned from attending the series of cultural-competence seminars, she would have developed a level of greater understanding to the traditions, beliefs, and norms which would enable her to have developed a positive attitude and apply the appropriate behavior while communicating and attending to the patients’ needs and those of the patients’ family members.

2. Reflect upon what have you learned after completing the Learning Activities. Your comments must show thoughtful reflection about how you have assessed your personal development as you strive for cultural competence.

            Upon completing the Learning Activities, one realized that although one is culturally competent, on the average, there are still more concepts and skills to be learned to improve one’s cultural competency according to the specific cultures that diverse patients possess. The case scenario has clearly emphasized that the Romani culture and beliefs are intricate and one’s level of care and understanding comprehensive assessment of the patient, the reaction and response of family members, and the appropriate behavior depends largely on how one was well aware of traditions, beliefs, norms, and other cultural underpinnings. As such, health practitioners should be made aware of differences in cultural beliefs across as many cultures as one is expected to encounter to enable applying the appropriate conduct and behavior in addressing the health needs of culturally diverse patients.

            It was commendable that the Learning Activities provided different scenarios from different points of view: from the nurse, the nurse manager, and even from the hospital executive committee. As such, one realized that the application of theoretical frameworks on cultural competence within an entire hospital setting would necessitate the recommended intervention at all levels. The support from the management or executive committee is crucial to ensure that all resources: time, funds, and human resources are integrated into observing and adhering to changes or transformations that would improve cultural awareness and competencies; as well as in applying the needed measures to slowly confirm that there would be a positive attitude and behavioral change across all health care practitioners.

3. Identify at least one thing an organization can do to improve its cultural competence.

            An organization can improve cultural competency through continuous training and development programs that cater to increasing healthcare practitioners’ knowledge of different traditions, communication patterns, norms, beliefs of patients from different cultural orientations. This would require a competent and qualified group, such as the one headed by Jacqueline Strong, in advocating for cultural awareness and competencies along with all members of the organizational hierarchy. As emphasized, an organization’s adherence and respect to the traditions and values of different cultures would require exerting consistent efforts and the utilization of appropriate resources to abide by the different cultural needs of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Training and development programs must be conducted in all levels of the organization to ensure that proper attitude and behavior would be inculcated and that cultural awareness and competency becomes part of the organizational culture in the long run.