Cultural Awareness in Healthcare
I admitted a 19-year-old female college student with fevers in my hospital in Pikesville, Maryland. After checking her personal information, I realized she has a West African background. The hospital’s focus during care delivery is to provide patients with the most patient-centered care possible. One of the major elements of patient-centred care in healthcare is providing patients, regardless of their cultural background, with care that is sensitive to their culture. Communication during the patient interview is one of the main components of culturally sensitive care.
Culturally sensitive communication includes being aware of one’s own culture, adopting an open communication approach, and determining appropriate methods to collaborate with the patient and their family members (Brooks et al., 2019). During the interview with the 19-year-old West African female college student, I can facilitate culturally sensitive communication by remembering my own cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, the possible biases that my culture may have towards the patient’s background, and differences that exist between my culture and the patient’s culture. Do you need help with your assignment ? Contact us at eminencepapers.com.
I am not familiar with West African cultures and their beliefs regarding health. Nevertheless, the best way to provide the patient with culturally-sensitive care is to learn about their culture. I can ask them and their family about their cultural background and views. Through this, it is possible to appreciate the patient’s cultural and ethnic background and be aware of their culture and existing differences. Improving cultural awareness further facilitates patient-physician communication and supports the delivery of safe and quality care for positive outcomes (Kaihlanen et al., 2019). I can also use available healthcare support resources such as the free “Culturally Competent Nursing Care: A Cornerstone of Caring” online course offered by the Maryland Board of Nursing and resources provided by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
References
Brooks, L. A., Manias, E., & Bloomer, M. J. (2019). Culturally sensitive communication in healthcare: A concept analysis. Collegian, 26(3), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COLEGN.2018.09.007
Kaihlanen, A. M., Hietapakka, L., & Heponiemi, T. (2019). Increasing cultural awareness: Qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions about cultural competence training. BMC Nursing, 18(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12912-019-0363-X/TABLES/2
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Question 
1a) You are admitting a 19-year-old female college student to the hospital for fevers. Using the patient information provided, choose a culture unfamiliar to you and describe what would be important to remember while you interview this patient.
Cultural Awareness in Healthcare
Discuss the healthcare support systems available in your community for someone of this culture. If no support systems are available in your community, identify a national resource.