Cultural Competence: Do Nursing Students Need More Education?

Cultural Competence: Do Nursing Students Need More Education?
Imagine starting your first job as a new nurse in a big hospital in a huge city. You have been there for roughly two months, so your training with another nurse is done. You have report and have your patient load for the day, so you begin your day. In room 303 is Amir, a 75 year old Muslim man who is a post-operative patient for a fractured femur. You walk in, introduce yourself and begin your assessment. You move his gown to listen to his heart and lungs but he becomes upset and pulls his gown back over him. You explain what you are doing but realize he still holds his gown down over his body. You think he is crabby because he is in the hospital and that you will finish your assessment later. Also it is about 8 am and he has not had his breakfast, you call the kitchen and order scrambled eggs, ham, oatmeal, and apple juice. You check on him thirty minutes later, he has not eaten anything. You tell him he needs to eat so that his healing process will not be delayed. He doesn’t try to eat anything. You take the tray away and think that he is just being a crabby old man today.
This is an example of incompetent nursing care. Amir was acting like that because of his traditions. A culturally competent nurse would know Muslims like the same gender nurse and provider. During shift
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services definition fits my topic. They define culturally competent care as “care that respects diversity in the patient population and cultural factors that can affect health and health care, such as language, communication styles, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.” We need to stop issues related to not giving the patient the care they deserve because the nursing staff is not aware of their values and beliefs. Having more education can prevent these health care discrepancies from