The ability of providers and organizations to deliver healthcare services effectively to meet the linguistic, social and cultural needs of patients can be defined as cultural competence. It is essential to realize that improvement in health outcomes and the provision of health care systems can be achieved only through a competent health care system. It helps professionals work more effectively in cross-cultural situations as it combines a set of policies, attitudes, and behaviors to aid in their delivery of services (Bainbridge, McCalman & Tsey, 2015). Having such a system can go a long way in reducing gaps created by ethnic and racial health disparities.
What I have learned about my cultural competency is that an effective helping relationship should be established and maintained by practitioners. I believe that would be very essential in understanding different cultural groups as some cases during my normal duties have realized are very sensitive. Through applying that perspective it would assist professionals in accommodating and handling cultural differences in a proper way (Cooper, 1973). It is important to realize that the socio-political context is also required for service users and professionals. Socio-political context inquires how social processes exist between workers and service users ( Dominelli, 2004). Certain precautions would be developed against the common way of evaluating people against one standard behavior.
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Through my work, I am influenced by the fact that getting information about the other and also appreciating one's culture is not enough to conduct my duties effectively. Rather that should be combined by applying different intervention skills between different groups to be able to deliver effectively. That is important because practical information is always considered of the essence in solving typical and common problems. Efforts should be increased to improve the ability of all systems and also help practitioners work with the diversity of patients (Bainbridge, Mccalman & Tsey, 2015). It can be a key to reducing inequalities in healthcare access and the quality of care being delivered.
During my normal day operation in my new area of work, I once encountered an incident from a patient that I first interpreted it otherwise. I almost offended the patient because I did not know that the behavior she was demonstrating was one of their crucial cultural practice. The patient was suffering from malaria. When I started attending to her we could communicate properly but she could avoid direct eye contact I found it absurd because for me to understand her it had to take a lot of time. It took me almost an hour because at times she was afraid to talk to me. Luckily enough I understood her ailment later and diagnosed her as required. I came to realize later through a colleague that it was their culture for an unmarried lady not to have direct eye contact with men whom they are not blood-related. Cultural awareness and knowledge constitute effective service delivery (Bainbridge, Mccalman & Tsey, 2015). Through that incident, my interaction with patients changed completely and had I understood that earlier, I could have saved enough time to attend to other patients.
Spirituality is one of the cultural dimensions that cause anxiety to me when working with patients. An example of such cases is when they are required to take their children for measles vaccine mobilizing such groups to understand the importance of such services is difficult. It is important to constitute the ability to perform required interventions that constitute the clients' culture (Sue and Sue, 2003). It needs extensive mobilization because without that the lives of innocent children are put at high risk.
References
Roxanne B., Janya M., Anton C., & Komla T., (2015). Cultural Competency in the Delivery of Health Services for Indigenous People.
Susan Cooper, (1973) . A look at the effect of racism on clinical work’, Social Casework , vol. 54, pp. 76– 84.
Dominelli, L. (2004) ‘Culturally competent social work: a way toward international anti-racist social
work?’, in Education for Multicultural Social Work Practice: Critical Viewpoints and Future
Directions, eds L. Gutierrez, M. D. Zuniga & D. Lum, Council on Social Work Education,
Alexandria, VA.
Dominelli, L. (2004) ‘Culturally competent social work: a way toward international anti-racist social
work?’, in Education for Multicultural Social Work Practice: Critical Viewpoints and Future
Directions, eds L. Gutierrez, M. D. Zuniga & D. Lum, Council on Social Work Education,
Alexandria, VA.
Dominelli, L. (2004) ‘Culturally competent social work: a way toward international anti-racist social
work?’, in Education for Multicultural Social Work Practice: Critical Viewpoints and Future
Directions, eds L. Gutierrez, M. D. Zuniga & D. Lum, Council on Social Work Education,
Alexandria, VA.
Lena Dominelli, (2004). Culturally Competent Social Work: a way toward international anti – racist social work?
Sue, D. W. & Sue, D. (2003) Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice. 4th edn.
John Wiley & Sons, New York
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2003). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc. Dominelli, L. (2004) ‘Culturally competent social work: a way toward international anti-racist social
work?’,
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2003). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Dominelli, L. (2004) ‘Culturally competent social work: a way toward international anti-racist social
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