Cultural Prejudice In Nursing

The United States of America is a country known for the vast multicultural backgrounds of its population. I consider myself lucky to have been raised in a diverse community, and to have had the opportunity of interacting with people of different backgrounds from a young age. I have seen the negative impact prejudice can cause and understand the importance of treating everybody with respect and kindness irrespective of their cultural or religious beliefs. I am eager to work in the profession of nursing where I will be able to embrace diversity every day. A personal goal will be to help bridge the cultural barriers that form the prejudices by practicing and promoting patient care that is based on respect for all patients. Members of the nursing
profession must be aware of people with different backgrounds and retain an open mind in order to make the patient feel comfortable and provide culturally sensitive health care. I believe that this starts with self-evaluation by being aware of the potential for ethnic bias and doing your best to avoid a mindset that employs ethnocentrism. This can be achieved by continuous self-evaluation when encountering someone who is different from you in order to maintain an open mind to foster continued personal growth. It is important to be cognizant of the fact that a person’s culture or beliefs can have a significant impact on how they perceive their medical care and in fact respond to their treatment. I consider myself to be very respectful towards others demonstrating empathy and compassion towards those I meet. I hope to take these personal characteristics into a field where I can make a difference and gain a new perspective. What better way to achieve this, than to provide competent, culturally sensitive nursing care. I wish to obtain the medical knowledge necessary that will allow me to blend my personal characteristics in order to care for one patient at a time and administer the best medical care possible.