After watching the videos on both cultural competency and cultural humility, it is apparent that they appear similar and one can easily confuse in their distinction. That said cultural humility necessitates one to be open to continuous change and understanding of separate cultures and values, rather than solely possessing an understanding of them. The focus of cultural competency is on having a fundamental knowledge of several, and that assists the patients in getting the care they so require. Despite the fact that one may be knowledgeable about the basics of a particular culture, they do not entirely know everything, and that might raise illicit concerns while working in a healthcare setup.
Cultural Humility
My definition of cultural humility would be the ability to be open to the continuous acquisition of knowledge in different cultures and acknowledging that it is correct that do not know each aspect of each culture ( Chavez, 2012) . It practically not possible for one to know everything concerning each culture, and a limitation will make one more transparent to recent suggestions, information, and advice. In such a sense, humility is not viewed as a weakness but seen as a person’s ability to recognize that they have limited knowledge of a culture which is not their own. Cultural humility remains an endless learning process that overlaps with the complicated nature of culture ( Chavez, 2012) .
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Compare and Contrast
One thing that stood out for me on each video was that there is a difference between cultural humility and cultural competency. Cultural humility entails continuous learning and shifting of cultures, whereas cultural competency emphasizes on how an individual can utilize the knowledge of cultures that they do have ( Chavez, 2012) . However, by the virtue that one took training on a particular culture does not imply that they know everything concerning it. That is one of the principal problems cited in the cultural competency and humility videos. Cultural competency and cultural humility work in unison to achieve a well-informed, but continuously learning healthcare provider. Betancourt et al . (2016) defined Cultural competency as “the ability of health care providers and healthcare organizations to understand and respond effectively to the cultural and language needs brought by the patient to the healthcare encounter”. The definition points out that cultural competency points at providing the best care that matches a patient’s social wants (Isaacson, 2014).
Cultural competency is premised on the understanding and knowledge of separate cultures, and that is where cultural humility jets in. Through cultural humility an individual opens up to continuous learning of beliefs and cultures and minus it you cannot become culturally competent ( Chavez, 2012) . Cultural humility and cultural competency are similar by the virtue that works on the premise of obtaining knowledge and understanding of cultures that are not their own.
Problems
A single concern that may issues that may emanate in healthcare is the assumption that everyone in a similar culture is doing everything in the same manner. As elucidated in the video, people are fast to assume something instead of gain an understanding that there exist variations in every culture. When a person works with assumptions, it becomes uneasy to evade problems. The problematic issues will arise. In most cases, assumptions often lead to miscommunications, and that can significantly harm the patient ( Chavez, 2012) . Another critical concern with assumptions is offending the patient and thus leaving them with a damaging impression of the healthcare apparatus. Notably, there is a primary health care problem of late among the minor societies and giving assumptions indeed does not provide a cure to the issue.
The moment the healthcare officials are not transparent to knowledge from the patient body then most likely they will not provide the patients with the most suitable care that they desire and need (Isaacson, 2014). A sole manner of preventing the problem from occurring is to train you on culture issues; undertake training units and seminars. That more you are into cultural studies, the more one will be in a position to assist patients. Taking an ignorant attitude and not educating yourself concerning other cultures hurts your patients and that most likely, affects the quality of care delivery to the patients. I believe in the power of knowledge and that the most suitable manner of being the best healthcare provider is to continually learn and adequately adapt to the new cultures and beliefs (Isaacson, 2014).
Conclusion
It can censoriously be summarized that cultural competency and cultural humility are essential elements of a qualified healthcare provider. It is significant for one to be in a position to separate between the two issues and study how they function together before you can become culturally competent. The mastery and application of your knowledge of other cultures in a healthcare environment is part of being culturally relevant. An efficient healthcare provider needs always to be willing to study fresh things and different cultures that they do not original ascribe and are not their very own. The moment you learn that cultural humility is an everlasting learning process, and not just a goal, then you will be on the way to attaining cultural competency as a healthcare provider.
References
Isaacson, M. M. (2014). Clarifying concepts: Cultural humility or competency. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30(3), 251-258. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2013.09.011
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, I. I. (2016). Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. Public health reports .
Chavez, V. (Producer). (2012, August 2 b). Cultural humility: History, poetry, power and privilege - Part 2 of 4 [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a2X3Q4cUE0
