Introduction
Nurses are increasingly caring for patients in diverse cultural settings due to global migration. Nurses are required to approach their patients as unique individuals by considering their cultural needs. However, to achieve this, they must develop intercultural communication competency. Intercultural communication refers to “interaction between individuals from different nations, ethnic and cultural experiences “(Vu, 2019, p. 43). In a healthcare setting, it facilitates social interaction and mutual awareness of different cultural representatives. Therefore, nurses must strive to communicate effectively with patients from multiple cultures in order to provide high-quality and safe care.
The Role of Intercultural Communication
The role of intercultural communication in nursing entails communication with patients from different cultures while respecting their customs, religion, and values and acknowledging their biological differences. Infusing intercultural communication in nursing helps create a high level of efficiency by reaching a wider and more diverse patient population. Similarly, it allows nurses to take a non-bias approach to care, thus promoting more beneficial services (Vu, 2019). Moreover, this type of communication breaks down cultural barriers and, instead, builds cultural norms and self-awareness among the care providers.
How The Selected Topic Is Relevant
The selected topic is quite relevant when it comes to demonstrating cultural competency to patients and families. Cultural competence concerns the ability of the healthcare providers to effectively deliver high-quality care that meets the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of the patients. This is similar to intercultural communication, which strives to ensure nurses communicate with patients from different cultures while respecting their customs, religions, and values. Therefore, the two play a critical role in providing better health care for people of all cultures.
Emerging Trends In Cultural Competency
An example of an emerging trend in cultural competency relates to the care of LGBTQ patients. The LGBTQ community consists of members from different races, and ethnic and religious backgrounds. The healthcare needs of this community should be taken into consideration to provide quality and equal care. This trend has greatly affected the healthcare practice because it requires nurses to be more open to multiple “special considerations and avoid unconscious and perceived biases” (Lessard et al., 2020, p.196). Similarly, health professionals must learn how to provide compassionate and compressive care with education.
Planning Culturally Competent Care
When planning culturally competent care, it is important to ensure the program provides treatment to diverse groups. First, health professionals must address the patient’s religious and spiritual beliefs, especially when dealing with difficult medical decisions. For example, Muslims have strict praying times, which might interfere with medical treatment (Oakley et al., 2019). Moreover, assessing cultural beliefs and ethnicity helps the care providers to individualize care and achieve positive outcomes. Caring for Muslim patients requires an understanding of differences in ideas of modesty, privacy, and touch reactions.
The provider must be aware of the different ethnicities which have diverse views about illness and treatment. Furthermore, nurses must be fully aware of the influence of traditional medicine. Lastly, sexual orientation is a key factor to consider when planning culturally competent care. For instance, during a physical exam, it is appropriate to have a health professional of the same sex as the patient. If this is not possible, ensure there is a third party of the same gender in the room to comfort the patient.
Recommendations
This presentation recommends the following
First, nurses should be encouraged to engage directly in cross-cultural interactions with patients. This will ensure they develop the ability to explore patients’ beliefs and values in order to establish effective relationships with them.
Secondly, nurses should be encouraged to regularly perform a culturally competent self-assessment. This ensures they understand their strengths and weaknesses with regard to working with people from diverse cultures.
Thirdly, nurses should be encouraged to take part in culturally competent training as this would increase their awareness, knowledge, and skills.
References
Lessard, L. M., Puhl, R. M., & Watson, R. J. (2020). Gay–straight alliances: A mechanism of health risk reduction among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning adolescents. American journal of preventive medicine, 59(2), 196-203. Web.
Oakley, S., Grealish, L., El Amouri, S., & Coyne, E. (2019). The lived experience of expatriate nurses providing end of life care to Muslim patients in a Muslim country: An integrated review of the literature. International journal of nursing studies, 94, 51-59. Web.
Vu, T. N. (2019). Theoretical constructs and practical strategies for intercultural communication. Journal of Curriculum Studies Research, 1(1), 43-53. Web.