Cultural Competency In The Workplace

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Culturally competent is defined as cultural competence is the integration and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of services; thereby producing better outcomes. (Davis, 1997). By taking that developed knowledge and integrating it into your practice at all times, you will become a culturally competent Social Worker. The NASW’s believes that it is the individual’s ethical duty to be culturally competent. If one is not culturally competent then they cannot serve their minority clients to their fullest potential. There were a couple of events that made the NASW realize that not people that differed …show more content…
(NASW). The second event that occurred was the wave of immigrants into the United States. It was then notice that there was a wide range of differences among people and how their backgrounds make them unique. “Histories of internal displacement within their own countries, torture, political oppression, and extreme poverty abound among immigrant communities. Melding these backgrounds with the history, experiences, and expectations of U.S. born ethnic and diverse populations creates both challenges and opportunities for social workers” (NASW).The article about Cultural Competence on the NASW website, heavily articulated that a social workers cultural competence can make or break a client’s future. If the social work cannot understand the client’s needs or situation, how can they help them meet those needs? When there is understanding and not misunderstandings between the two parties a relationship can develop. From there the established needs can be …show more content…
It is meant to address issue from sexual orientation to a disability. Each has their own culture and each has their own special ways of doing things. It is the social workers job to know those ways. If we don’t learn about these cultures, how can we be an effective social worker? You simply can’t. There are many types of cultural considerations a social worker has to take in consideration with vulnerable populations. There have been two different instances that I have encountered at my internship. The first instance is with African American families specifically. As a medical social work intern home health, hospice, and nursing home placements are something I work with daily. There have been several instances where African American families absolutely refuse, even when it is in the patient’s best interest. However at first glimpse, this could be viewed as a negative situation. As a social worker there is a cultural consideration that needs to be acknowledged. In the African American culture it is common for children or other family members to take on caring for their elderly parents. Typically these matters are handled with in the family. They do not “push responsibility” off on to others, culturally they believe it is there place to do so. As an intern, I had to remember to not become frustrated, and to not force it on the family. The biggest issue was getting the attending physicians to understand why there was

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