Low Context Culture

While working in the nursing profession, I had experience taking care of patients from many different cultures and background. Communication is an important aspect of providing adequate patient care because I need to be able to assess patient health history and care needs. However, some cultures emphasizes having a trusting relationship before communication can occurs. According to Lamberton & Minor (2014), individuals from Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South American views trust as the initial step in relationship building. In this culture, trust is something that needs to be earned through established long term relationships. In contrast, low context cultures views learning logical, factual and emphasizes learning through the use of explicit instructions and/or explanation (Lamberton & Minor, 2014). This can be found in The United States, Canada, Germany and Switzerland (Lamberton
As a nurse, I need to accommodate the diverse patient population. For example, during report I get general information about the patient from the night shift nurse for continuity of care reasons. I need to assess patient needs and devise ways to address those need. For example, I recently took care of a patient from the Middle East. Initially, I could tell that the patient did not trust my expertise due to her tone and expression when I communicated with her plan of care. She spoke minimal English so I used a translator to decrease any speaking and listening barriers. By using an interpreter, I could sense more understanding and trust from the patient as effective communication was established. I take care of patients from low context cultures on a daily basis. I think patient who are familiar with the American health system have a general trust in nurses. It is understood that getting the patient well again is the goal for every person