Cultural Competence Healthcare is becoming diverse with the patient population from many different race, cultures and ethnicity. Nurses take care of patients from many different types of heritage and background, therefore we need to be culturally competent while providing care. By taking the Cultural Diversity Self-Assessment (IllinoisCTE, n.d.), I was able to determine my own beliefs toward different cultures. The assessment tool is comprised of a one to five rating scale in regards to how strongly I agree with a question. A score of one indicates an “almost never” response and five indicates “always” response. My total score was 115 with many of my answers being “sometimes” and “almost always”. The test results showed I had some strengths
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I need to make myself more approachable, friendly and initiating conversations with people who differ from me. Making a conscious effort to be aware of those, I do not generally interact with but at the same time not making it obvious I see a difference in their appearance. This can include patients from another culture by being culturally sensitive to their needs as a way providing quality care. The next strategy I can take is by overcoming my shyness and approach people from different cultures to form relationships or build a rapport. I need to watch someone with charisma to see how he or she interact with people and apply that to my personal situation. It would be helpful if I educated myself on the same useful facts on different cultures so striking a conversation would not be awkward. In conclusion, healthcare professional can improve on ways to be culturally competent. By taking the Cultural Diversity Self-Assessment (IllinoisCTE, n.d.) tool, I was able to recognize cultural awareness issues that I need improvement on as well as my strengths. I feel that I have a good direction toward achieving my cultural competency goals. Cultural competency is a process that requires ongoing assessment, modification and reflection to achieve proficiency (Saunders, Haskins, & Vasquez, 2015). Establishing cultural awareness is a key aspect in providing competent care in our ever so diverse
I need to make myself more approachable, friendly and initiating conversations with people who differ from me. Making a conscious effort to be aware of those, I do not generally interact with but at the same time not making it obvious I see a difference in their appearance. This can include patients from another culture by being culturally sensitive to their needs as a way providing quality care. The next strategy I can take is by overcoming my shyness and approach people from different cultures to form relationships or build a rapport. I need to watch someone with charisma to see how he or she interact with people and apply that to my personal situation. It would be helpful if I educated myself on the same useful facts on different cultures so striking a conversation would not be awkward. In conclusion, healthcare professional can improve on ways to be culturally competent. By taking the Cultural Diversity Self-Assessment (IllinoisCTE, n.d.) tool, I was able to recognize cultural awareness issues that I need improvement on as well as my strengths. I feel that I have a good direction toward achieving my cultural competency goals. Cultural competency is a process that requires ongoing assessment, modification and reflection to achieve proficiency (Saunders, Haskins, & Vasquez, 2015). Establishing cultural awareness is a key aspect in providing competent care in our ever so diverse