American Nursing Today: Culturally Competent Care

Immigration to the United States has never ceased.sickness. In this theory, there are cold foods and hot
It is a continual process that brings a variety of richfoods. Each of these foods is used to treat a
cultures and knowledge this great country. Healthparticular sickness.
care workers experience the vastness of culturalPreventing families from taking a integral role in their
diversity more so than any other profession.loved ones care could possibly impede the healing
Therefore, more than any other profession, healthprocess, by adding additional stress. Stress has been
care workers, nurses and physicians in particular mustknown to cause numerous illnesses. The nurse must
be culturally sensitive to the patients needs.attempt to balance the care that the family gives
As the population of the United States continues towhile in the hospital with the rules and regulations of
increase, hospitals are more likely to see morehospital protocol. This can be a fine line. However, the
patients that have cultural needs. Meeting the culturalpatient comes first. To facilitate an atmosphere
needs of a patient is essential in treating the wholewhere the client feels most comfortable is the goal
person. Enhancing a client's mental and physicalof the nurse as well as the other medical staff. Of
wellness is the responsibility of the nurse. The nursecourse one would not encourage food from home if
must attempt to use all of the resources at theirthe client had leukopenia, or their immune system
disposal to see that the client receives the care thatwas compromised.
they need.A nurse must possess the skill and compassion to
Nurses are faced with a great challenge whenfacilitate the healing process from the first meeting.
treating clients of various ethnicities. Hospital rules areWhen the client cannot speak English the nurse
not always congruent with the requests of patient'sshould do their best to enlist an interpreter. Using a
families. Hospitals with set visiting hours may pose afamily member is not a wise choice, due to the fact
problem for the nurse who recognizes that thethat the family member may not know how to
patient needs family members around them at alltranslate medical terms or may be selective in
hours. Hospitals do not always cater to the patient'stranslating so as not to worry their loved one.
diet. Hospitals in Dearborn Michigan now carry HalalInterpreters are usually employed by hospitals to
food for the patients who are of the Islamic faith.assist medical personnel. Some hospitals have what is
The city of Dearborn has one of the highestknown as the "Blue Phone". The Blue Phone is a
populations of Arabic speaking peoples in the nation.direct line to an interpreter of choice for a specific
Hospitals had to recognize that to give quality care,language. The nurse merely has to hand the phone to
they had to be sensitive to the client's needs.the patient after explaining to the interpreter what
Nurses may not be able to change hospital protocol,the patient needs to know.
but they can make a significant difference in how theBeing a culturally sensitive nurse can bring about
patient views his or her health care. Therefore thepositive change and improve the healing process. The
nurse must make every effort to ensure that theclient will want to return to that hospital if they find it
patient's needs are met. It may be to allow family tonecessary, and will recommend other family members
visit on off hours, or to have a plate of food broughtas well.
in from home. Many cultures have a theory about