Cultural Competence Care 
Cultural Competence Care and Lack of Communication
Swasti Lewis
NUR/531
March 23, 2015
Instructor Annette Marget
“Hola, coma esta, Me llamo Swasti Lewis, Yo soy enfermera por la noche”, this statement translates to, “hello, how are you? My name is Swasti Lewis, I will be your nurse for tonight”. Language, a beautiful notion in life defining people by their origins, culture and countries. Language means, “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community,”(Webster, 2015). Nursing provides care to all different cultures that bring with them their own languages, customs, traditions, values, and beliefs. Culture is a, “Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts,” (Zimmerman, 2012).
According to the National Institute of Health, “cultural competency is often described as the combination of a body of knowledge, a body of belief and a body of behavior”. Cultural competency affects the outcomes of healthcare and the delivery of healthcare, by helping providers to deliver care that is respectful to a persons beliefs, values and practices. Cultural competency also helps healthcare providers deliver care that caters to the linguistic needs of diverse cultures. Cultural competency is being able to effectively communicate with another culture emotionally, physically and linguistically. Communication is the art of how we interact with each other as people. For instance in the Muslim culture, it is inappropriate for women to look directly at man when speaking. The American culture says its disrespectful to not look someone in the eyes when speaking as in some Asian and European countries it is deemed disrespectful. Each culture has its own unique way of how it interprets and views communication. Hospitals are encouraged by law to implement better and effective ways of communicating with
Swasti Lewis
NUR/531
March 23, 2015
Instructor Annette Marget
“Hola, coma esta, Me llamo Swasti Lewis, Yo soy enfermera por la noche”, this statement translates to, “hello, how are you? My name is Swasti Lewis, I will be your nurse for tonight”. Language, a beautiful notion in life defining people by their origins, culture and countries. Language means, “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community,”(Webster, 2015). Nursing provides care to all different cultures that bring with them their own languages, customs, traditions, values, and beliefs. Culture is a, “Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts,” (Zimmerman, 2012).
According to the National Institute of Health, “cultural competency is often described as the combination of a body of knowledge, a body of belief and a body of behavior”. Cultural competency affects the outcomes of healthcare and the delivery of healthcare, by helping providers to deliver care that is respectful to a persons beliefs, values and practices. Cultural competency also helps healthcare providers deliver care that caters to the linguistic needs of diverse cultures. Cultural competency is being able to effectively communicate with another culture emotionally, physically and linguistically. Communication is the art of how we interact with each other as people. For instance in the Muslim culture, it is inappropriate for women to look directly at man when speaking. The American culture says its disrespectful to not look someone in the eyes when speaking as in some Asian and European countries it is deemed disrespectful. Each culture has its own unique way of how it interprets and views communication. Hospitals are encouraged by law to implement better and effective ways of communicating with