A cultural assessment in a healthcare system provides a systematic way to identify the values, meanings, beliefs, and behaviors of different people putting their history, life experience, and social and physical environments into consideration. In a healthcare setting, I would perform a cultural assessment by gathering data from the patient through informal conversation. I would ask the patient about their ethnic background, religious preference, food and eating patterns, family dynamics, and healthcare practices while conducting the cultural assessment. Through collecting such information, I will then be able to know how best to communicate with the patient and their family members. I also identify the patient’s confidant if the patient is from a different culture to ensure I bridge the cultural gap. I am also very keen on verbal and non-verbal communications when interacting with the patient. I would also ask about the patient’s spiritual needs a these can impact the type of care the patient receives. The responses that I get from the patient and their family help inform the type of intervention to take with the patient to ensure they receive the best care possible.
I have encountered different personalities in the healthcare systems during my time as a healthcare provider. During my routine health assessment in the clinic, I once received an African American patient who was suffering from severe back pain. Before administering care to him, I engaged him and conducted a cultural assessment to ensure that I adequately understood his background and social life. I soon realized that he had apprehension in using opioids for pain management as he was afraid of getting addicted. This was a cultural belief that the patient held, and I had to educate the patient about the need for taking opioids in managing his pain. I also explained to him how people end up getting addicted to opioids to ensure that he knew how to mitigate his addiction to the drugs, while also making them aware of the need to take the medication. This assessment helped me identify his beliefs, thus informing my treatment approach. Knowing various aspects of the patient’s background should be considered a key element in a healthcare setting.
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Reply to Victoria R.
It is important to have an organization-wide set of questions that are used in the assessment of patients’ culture and beliefs. This helps in ensuring the patients’ needs and requests are catered for by the healthcare providers. I agree with you that nurses with you that it is vital for nurses to obtain the correct information and make an attempt to truly understand the needs of each patient. I also believe that a nurse should conduct their cultural assessment regardless of whether or not the questions have already been answered upon receiving the patient. If the nurse in charge of the Jehovah’s witness patient you received had conducted the assessment, she would have been keen to ensure the patient did not receive any blood components.
Reply to Augustine O.
The nurse-to-patient therapeutic relationship is b ased on mutual respect, trust, hope, and sensitivity to self and others. Nurses help with the gratification of their patient’s emotional, spiritual, and physical needs through their skill and knowledge. Nurses are urged to be culturally competent, and learning different languages can be a good step at becoming culturally competent. The scenario you explained of the Spanish patient is a good example of how language comes in handy when dealing with patients from different cultures. Nurses must be culturally competent to showcase supportive, caring, and nonjudgmental behavior in a safe environment to f acilitate competent care to patients from different cultures.
