Cultural Differences In Greek Culture

We are taught our culture from birth and experience it throughout our lives. Essentially, our culture is the foundation of who we are and it is important to remember that with many cultures comes many traditions. In my essay I will be discussing two ethnic groups and the practices and beliefs that make them culturally diverse. In order we will start by addressing birth, death, illness, personal hygiene and communication. As with many ethnic backgrounds the Greeks and the Japanese have many different birthing traditions. The Greeks are very superstitious and one of the many birthing tradition that Greeks practice is pinning charms and crosses on the clothing of the newborn to ward of the evil eye. This can potentially be seen as a safety hazard, so as a future nurse I would gently explain my concerns with these patients and their families and offer a few alternatives. Greeks believe that the color blue words off the evil eye, so one may consider suggesting a blue baby blanket. One of the more traditional Japanese birthing practices for the Japanese is that after child birth a piece of the umbilical cord was cut and saved for the parents. As a nurse it will be our responsibility to get to know our patient. Communication is key, so just talk to the patient and see if there are any special request that are expected …show more content…
To practice cultural competence in the nursing field I need to be aware of the fact that many belief systems exist. So, this may mean that at times I don’t understand why people do what they do and it may even seem weird or meaningless, but I know how important it is to to value others differences. It shows patients that we are compassionate and that their needs are our top