Culturally Competent Nursing
For this assignment you will interview a person from a cultural background that is different from your own. Using the twelve domains of culture from the Purnell Model, discuss the health practices of that culture and compose a scholarly paper in a Microsoft Word document of 5–6 pages formatted in APA style.
In your paper, you should include the following:
Select a person from a cultural group different from your own. You may choose a patient, friend, or work colleague. For the sake of confidentiality, do not reveal the name of the person you interview; use only initials.
For the person you select, complete the cultural assessment using questions 1 through 12 from the Purnell Model for Cultural Competence in your textbook, Transcultural Health Care: A Culturally Competent Approach.
On a separate page, cite all sources using APA format.
- Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.
- This handout will provide you the details of formatting your essay using APA style.
- You may create your essay in this APA-formatted template.
Expert Answer and Explanation
Assessment of Cultural Competency
Caregivers are expected to provide holistic care to patients, and this requires that they understand their patients’ cultural values as well as beliefs, and incorporate this knowledge in making clinical decisions. For practitioners, the delivery of the holistic and patient-centered care is becoming a hallmark of practice, and policy makers as well as health care organizations are placing emphasis on full integration of cultural elements in all areas of practice including evidence preparation (Dayer-Berenson, 2014). Thus, the role of this study is to explore the process of application of the Purnell model in assessing the cultural beliefs and values of a different culture.
The patient I interviewed is of Indian heritage, and she moved to the United States (U.S.) in 2016. Despite the high rates of poverty in her country, families place priority on education, and given that the education is free and mandatory, the school attendance is high. Her parents never went past the primary level of education, and despite her having gone past the high school level, and they are into business in her home country. This also applies to most of the extended members of her family, despite her country having thousands of high schools and higher learning institutions. Some parts of the country are mountainous while other parts are hilly, and this topographical characteristics influence the cultures they practice as well as the foods they eat (Dayer-Berenson, 2014). Besides, the country is democratic.
When asked about the way they communicate, she mentioned that they use verbal and non-verbal cues when communicating. In addition to using gestures, they great each other as a form of expressing respect, and this however differs from one culture to the other. Just like majority of families in her native country, she speaks Punjab, and Hindu. Another approach to expressing respect entails bending over and touching elders’ feet (Ferrell & Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, 2016). Eye contact is allowed within this culture, and caregivers can touch patients as long as they do it appropriately when treating patients.
The patient when assessed based on the family roles as well as organization, admitted that her parents are legally married, and they have had a fairly good family relationships. This is partly because of the cultural norms of her home country which define the boundaries of roles of each member of the family. According to her cultural heritage, she is expected to marry within her culture, and even when she gets married, her husband would still have to be the head of the family. This means that her husband would be responsible for making some of the decisions she may find it difficult to make. Still based on her culture, she is expected to have a husband when she reaches a specific age. Religious practices largely determine the right or wrong where one gets a child out of wedlock.
The interviewee also responded on questions concerning the workforce issues related to her home country. She did admit that her parents faced challenges when they started a vehicle spare parts shop, and this is because the government trade policies made it difficult for importers to important some types of spare parts. This however changed when the government made the resolve to changes trade policies to allow for the importation of the spares. Although it is a conservative society, women occupy various job roles, and some are even involved in policing. Although alternative medicine is popular in rural parts, there is still wide acceptance of the modern medicine.
Although it is large and ethnically diverse, the country has dark-haired and brown-skinned natives with brown eyes. However, the country also have the members of the Siddhi communities, living in selected parts of the country. According to the patient, turban is a popular traditional clothing amount the Sikh communities, and some wear these clothes every time they go for prayers (Dayer-Berenson, 2014). Common health conditions, based on the information the patient provided, include anemia and high blood pressure.
An important observation made during the interview was that the use of substance is a problem in the Indian community. The use of the alcoholic substances is a problem particularly in rural as well as slum communities. She admitted that her maternal uncle is a victim of alcohol use, and a couple of her neighbors back home also consumer alcoholic substances. This has exacerbated social issues such as crime and prostitution especially in low income neighborhoods.
Food and nutrition are inherently part of the culture of the patient. Under Sikhism, for instance, vegetarianism is widely practiced, and this is part of the practice of ensuring that members remain pure. Among the foods they eat include rice and some plant proteins including beans. The fact that some families lack refrigeration equipment to store meat also explains the reason for the practice of vegetarianism (Dayer-Berenson, 2014). Because of the unbalanced nutrition, rates of anemia are high in the country.
The patient, when responding to the question on pregnancy and fertility admitted that her knowledge on these issues was limited to premarital sex and birth control. Her culture does not condone both of these practices, and child-giving is considered a sacred act across various religious doctrines. She admitted that she experienced her extended family members as well as her community practicing these values.
The Indian society is monolithic in nature, and this reflects in the way the Indian cultures perform the death rituals, and this is according to the responses which the patient provided. Cremation is a widely accepted tradition across the two major religious groups in the country. In contrary, Muslim and Christian communities adhere to the conventional burial practices where they bury their dead without cremated their bodies (Pedersen et al., 2015). Devotion to God, according to these two communities, determine whether one transcends to the next life.
The patient’s native country is largely spiritual, and manifests in the various ways they conduct their religious and spiritual activities. Although Hinduism is widespread, Sikhism is popular with a considerable number of the Indian populations. The patient consider herself a moderate Hindu, and she expresses this through her clothing (Pedersen et al., 2015).
The patient shared her views concerning the health care practices in the context of her culture. She admitted that majority of the Indian households rely on the modern medicine for their health, and she would thus, likely choose this approach to treatment instead of the alternative medicine. She also claimed that some families use alternative medicines such as spices for treatment of some diseases.
When asked about what she thinks about health care practitioners, she maintained that Indians have reverence for caregivers, and allow them to make medical decisions. This also applies to the traditional medicine people. According to the patient, physicians and nurses can treat patients of different gender as long family accepts it.
Conclusion
In overview, Purnell model is intended to guide caregivers through the process of delivering culturally competent care, and based on this interview, the patient seems to have comprehensive views concerning cultural aspects of health care delivery. She seems self-aware, and she has a deep understanding of the cultural norms of her country of origin. Thus, she is in a position to become a partner in clinical decision making process.
References
Dayer-Berenson, L. (2014). Cultural competencies for nurses: Impact on health and illness. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Ferrell, B., & Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. (2016). Pediatric palliative care. Oxford;: Oxford University Press.
Pedersen, P. B., Lonner, W. J., Draguns, J. G., Trimble, J. E., & Scharrón-del, R. M. R. (2015). Counseling Across Cultures. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
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