Cultural Competence

Cultural competence is defined as possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to appreciate, respect, and work with individuals from different cultures. It is a concept that requires self-awareness, awareness and understanding of cultural differences, and the ability to adapt to clinical skills and practices as needed. For instance, before my grandmother had passed, my family wanted to do a traditional prayer ceremony for her in the hospital. It is where we have a monk in the same room, doing the a Buddhist Prayer for peace. Indeed, with the help of the staff members on her floor, the nurses understood why my family request a monk to do a Buddhist Prayer and to have our whole family attends the prayer. In fact, the nurses would only allow two people to see my grandmother at a time, but in this case, the nurses allowed to have my whole family and the monk to be with our grandmother. Of course, without the help of Josepha Campinha-Bacote theory, Buddhist Prayer in the hospital would not have been allowed. According to the article, “The Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Healthcare Services: A Model of Care,” Josepha Campinha-Bacote mentioned a model that “requires health care providers to see themselves as becoming culturally competent rather than already being culturally competent. This process involves the integration of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, cultural encounters, and cultural desire” ( Josepha Campinha-Bacote, 2010).
Moreover, along the article, Campinha mentioned some Assumptions of the Model. There are five assumptions of the model:
1. Cultural competence is a process, not an event.
2. Cultural competence consists of five constructs: cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, cultural encounters, and cultural desire.
3. There is more variation within ethnic groups than across ethnic groups (intra-ethnic variation).
4. There is a direct relationship between the level of competence of health