Transcultural Nursing as a Necessary Specialty Madeline Leininger examined how the fields of nursing and anthropology were related. Transcultural nursing was established as a specialty within the nursing practice. The theory of transcultural nursing examines individual cultural beliefs, values, behaviors and practices related to health care (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). According to Madeleine Leininger there are eight …show more content…
A person’s background, race, attitudes, principles and behaviors are what shapes people into the individuals that they become. Diversity means variation among things such as people of different races, gender, socioeconomic status or religion. Therefore, the meaning of cultural diversity is a variety of cultures that exist within communities. Cultural diversity relates to nursing because nurses are faced with diversity with each interaction with patients. Culture can shape how health care is delivered. Nurses learn from the experiences they have with patients. Diversity among patient populations enables nurses to gain insight into patient traditions, perceptions and health behaviors. Nurses recognize that culture guides behaviors and particularly health behaviors (Rew, 2014). Knowledge of cultural aspects allows nurses to identify patients’ needs and improve patient outcomes to provide culturally competent