The team of physicians came up with many ideas and methods
The team of physicians came up with many ideas and methods
Admission History: (This should be a summary in the student’s own words of why the client came to the hospital now. Include a list of the client’s allergies, other medical problems. Do not just copy down the physician’s history and physical.)…
In ‘The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down’, Lia, a Hmong baby girl, is born to a Hmong family living in California as refugees away from their war torn land in Laos. In Laos the Lee’s where farmers and lived in the country according to their Hmong traditions and beliefs. In California they barely understood the language, much less Western culture or medicinal practices. In Hmong tradition, illness was seen as a spiritual problem rather than a physical problem and a Shaman that practiced spiritual ceremonies and used natural remedies was sought to prevent or cure certain illnesses and/or diseases; so when Lia suffered her first seizure at the age of 3 months and was taken to Mercer Hospital in California for treatment, it marked the beginning of the clash of two different worlds and two different cultures and Lia was caught in the middle of it all.…
In Chapter 1 of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Fadiman demonstrates cultural relativism towards the Hmong culture by including very detailed history, facts and procedures found in Hmong culture. When explaining the long process of pregnancy and birth in Hmong culture, she does not make and claims for or against these rituals. She does not compare the cultures rituals to another culture. Fadiman simply states facts and explains the steps it takes for a woman to give birth to a child. She even includes lore about dabs objectively in order to continue to go into greater detail about the great care women take on for their future children. Western bias is demonstrated to be neither negative nor positive in this chapter; it is simply different…
When Your Patient is a Hmong Refugee, under the American Journal of Nursing, provides guidelines to the medical community in how to effectively understand Hmong patients. To understand this subject, author Betty Rairdan and Zana Rae Higg, conducted interviews with 13 families from five different clans, all refugee families and have resettled in Washington. The families, mentioned many similar ideas that were presented in The Spirit Catches You And You Fall. For instance, all families mentioned the importance of politeness. Under a patrilineal clan, older males would make the decisions. Along the older, Shaman (spiritual leader and healer) would also have authority over decision making when it comes to a person’s illness and procedures. Being polite also comes into play, how a doctor or nurse delivers a bad new. Hmong’s view bad news by mixing it with an element of hope. We see this demonstrated in the book, told numerous times that Lia was going to die, Foua signed for the removal of the meds and IV. Doctor Peggy believed…
The patients’ lives within the ward is revolutionizing. According to Sherman Alexie “this book, where the Indian is the eyes through which we see this entire world, is certainly revolutionary” (Studio 360). In the book, Chief Bromden relates events which are…
Treatment is care provided to improve a situation, especially medical procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury. In the Hmong society, people go to a txiv neeb, a shaman, who is believed to be a “person with a healing spirit” (Fadiman, 1997, p. 21) to cure their illnesses. A txiv neeb knows that to cure an illness you must treat the soul, in addition to the body. This is important to the Hmong because in their society the soul has a great deal of importance. In Anne Fadiman`s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the Lees, a family of Hmong refugees from Laos, are placed in a difficult situation when their three…
In many cultures around the world people have the same problems to face as we do. They just refer to them by different words and or different meanings. In “The Spirit Catches You,” a young girl by the name of Lia has a condition that Western Medicine considers to be epilepsy, but in her culture of the Hmong they believe it to be qaug dab peg. Some might consider these two conditions of the body and soul to be the same thing or quite different. Western medicine's way of dealing with the issue is far from the same as Hmong culture and in most cases with different results. As much as Western medicine proves to be right the Hmong are still questionable about accepting a new way of treatment in their culture and so are many other cultures for that matter.…
This article informs the reader that healthcare professionals are more involved than ever with the treatment of patients. This places a lot of responsibility on the provider and therefore they should be armed with spiritual tools if they are going to effectively and holistically help with spiritual needs of a patient. Healthcare workers treat all types of people of various cultures and religious backgrounds. Many clients participating in various religious cultures have their own worldviews regarding how they will…
1.)The Merced Hospital Staff believed Lia suffered from Epilepsy. They believed it translated into Qaug dab peg. What was misunderstood is that quag dab peg were not really perceived as the same thing in Hmong culture as Epilepsy is in western medicine. In the Hmong culture, QDP is believed to be caused by a bad spirit called a dab. It is believed that dabs are responsible for stealing souls and making its victims sick. Epilepsy is recognized by western medicine as a serious neurological condition. Although Epilepsy and Quag dab peg may have the same physical symptoms, the symptoms are interpreted differently by each culture, making the condition two different illnesses requiring two different treatments. In Hmong culture, QDP is perceived as an illness with honor. Seizures are thought of to be evidence that the one experiencing them has powers to perceive things that others cannot see. Someone suffering from the symptoms of QDP are also thought of to be able to facilitate their entry into trance, which is required for them to journey into the unseen realm.…
When parents apply religious or cultural beliefs concerning spiritual healing, faith healing, or preference for prayer over traditional health care for children, concerns develop. This dilemma is unraveled in Anne Fadiman 's true story, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, where the study of cross cultural medicine holds a significant value in all profession. The book chronicles the vast cultural differences between mainstream Americans and the Hmong, and how language and cultural barriers affected Lia 's treatment. To understand the Lees we really need to understand the Hmong culture.…
The patient/family will understand the impact and influences those cultural and spiritual traditions, practices, and beliefs have on health and wellness.…
Before reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down I knew nothing about the Hmong culture, so reading the book was eye opening. “The more we know about culture in general, and our own culture in particular, the better able we are to modify our interactions with others to provide effective care” (Clark, 2015, p. 104). After reading the Fadiman text I have a new outlook on culturally competent care. Providing this type of care if much more than calling an interpreter because it is the “easy thing to do.” We must think about the patient as a whole regarding mind, body, and spirit. As a future nurse, I must remind myself that each patient is different. We all come from unique places, upbringings, and thought processes. From the assigned texts I have gained an appreciation and respect for others way of thinking. Nurses sometimes learn to desensitize themselves from situations, but we need to be seeing things through our patients’ eyes. We must show patients the respect and care that each and every one truly deserves, especially patients who are culturally diverse. The health care system can be a scary place. Seeing health care situations through our patient’s eyes could not only make health care professionals more empathetic, but also more understanding. Just because someone sees medicine different then our Western practices does not mean they are foolish or unintelligent. It means…
Through my Indian heritage, Japanese upbringing, and American education, I was always exposed to uncomfortable situations. This has helped me understand and appreciate the multitude of cultures in America and around the world. I’ve used my unique experiences to share other cultures with my peers, whether it be Bhangra performance or a lesson on sushi-making. Although simple, these things provide a gateway for people to engage in learning about and appreciating other cultures. As a part of the Georgetown University School of Medicine community, I can use my particular viewpoint to create new kinds of conversations about culture. Experiencing healthcare systems from three different countries, I can especially bring different perspectives to the…
In Anne Fadiman’s book, The Spirit Catches You and you Fall Down is a book about the Hmong people coming to America and how they are treated in the American Health System. This book is an amazing book and is extremely intriguing and helps you learn more about culture sensitivity. This book focuses on culture sensitivity. It talks about a specific family known as the Lee family and how they struggle to communicate their beliefs on treatments. It also focuses on language barriers that are presented by refugees and foreigners. The Lees know their daughter has a serious illness and should be treated, but they are not sure how to administer the drugs the doctor prescribes. This book also provides substantial information on the history of the Hmong…
Altogether, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” is a novel with many lessons. From Lia’s care, cultural barriers, the Hmong beliefs and the Lees behaviors, the novel allows the reader to find lack of health literacy within the story and provides a grasp of how serious a lack of health literacy can be for the patient. Breaking down cultural barriers to improve health literacy for the Hmong and every culture should be a top priority for health care…