Cultural Humility Versus Cultural Competence

An Analysis of Cultural Humility and Cultural Competence in “Cultural Humility Versus Cultural Competence” by Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia

This sociological analysis will define the meaning and usage of cultural humility and cultural competence in in “Cultural Humility Versus Cultural Competence” by Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia. Tervalon and Murray Garcia (1998) define the meaning of cultural humility as a means for physicians and caregivers to better understand the self-critical evaluations of patient care in a caregiving setting. This form of “humility” defines a less authoritarian view of the social worker, which does not assume a cultural expertise based on their medical training. For instance, a Caucasian nurse can wrongfully assume that other cultures are similar to her own: “This nurse's notion of her own expertise actually stereotyped the patient's experience” (Tervalon and Murray-Garcia, 1998, 119). This is how a nurse or physician can gain “cultural competence” by continually self-evaluating and critically challenging his or her own cultural biases in the experiential treatment of a patient. In this way, the nurse …show more content…
In this context, the nurse or physician breaks the often-authoritarian view of the medical establishment by humbling oneself to the cultural background of the patient. This helps to respect the rights of the patient, regardless of the personal biases of the caregiver and/or physician that taking care of the patient. Therefore, cultural humility reduces the conflict of the patient/physician hierarchy, and brings greater understanding by continually being open to cultural diversity as a method medical