Essay on Global Citizenship and Equity Reflection

Abstract

In most instances, patients do not get the care they deserve due to their cultural differences, which impact their behaviors. Many health providers are not culturally informed hence may come out ignorant. In providing patients care, it’s vital to be sensitive to their culture as it impacts their performance outcomes. More so, being keen when conducting a health assessment on the client is equally significant. In this article, I write about my experience with a patient of a different culture and how being culturally informed and sensitive helped me provide better patient care. I also talked about the principal issue with the client and how caring for them made me feel.

Table of contents

Look Back

While undertaking my RPN diploma in nursing, I was taught that a person’s culture could significantly impact a patient’s care and overall well-being. Many different cultures exist, and this could determine the care accorded by nurses to specific patients. Therefore, I started to enquire with working nurses to have an insight into how culture impacts care. After I began working as a full-time nurse, it became evident how essential it is to be culturally aware and sensitive. In this essay, I reflect on my experience as a psychiatric nurse in a health care career.

Objective Recall

My first patient was a young man from an Indian background called Mr. T for confidentiality, and he was admitted to the psychiatric ward with anxiety disorder. I was tasked with monitoring patients and evaluating their side effects as the nurse on duty that night. The nurse informed me that Mr. T was not compliant to care; he would not eat or take his medications. Also, when approached, he would become very irritated. I was also informed Mr. T had issues sleeping and was trembling almost all the time. His family did not visit him very often, and when they’d show up, he became restless and could hardly concentrate on what they were saying to him.

Subjective Recall

When I went up to Mr. T to introduce myself, I observed that he became very restless. His breathing rate became heightened. While conducting my health assessment, I observed that he blankly stared at the wall and started fidgeting. When he finally calmed himself at around 9 pm, I was still in the room, I offered him an apple, and he ate it silently. It takes a culturally aware person to comprehend that a difference exists. This comprehension helped me apprehend that Mr. T being an Indian meant he was a vegetarian (Borude, 2019). Therefore, he could not eat the food provided at the hospital as, in most cases, it had meat. By acknowledging his culture, I initiated a nurse-client relationship with him. He had some language barrier, but he understood and spoke English though not fluently.

Analysis

The health provider’s ignorance was the primary issue. Mr. T, due to his illness, had problems initiating a conversation hence the reason he did talk about his culture and beliefs. More so, Mr. T had an “anxiety disorder” diagnosis on the consultation note that limited the nurse’s all-inclusive approach. Mr. T was not passive-aggressive by failing to eat; he was just disturbed that his religious needs were not being met. I assured him that he was free to conduct his puja prayers in his room and could close the door for privacy. More so, I talked slightly slower to give him time to hear the words, which made him want to talk to me. Several personal aspects can affect a person’s behavior and performance result (Lin, 2016). Additionally, engaging interpersonal skills with a patient who shares different beliefs and values is crucial (Lin, 2016). Therefore, the need for nurses to be culturally informed.

This reflection helped me understand personally that different beliefs and values exist for other cultures and that cultural awareness can envisage culturally knowledgeable actions (Lin, 2016). At the end of my shift, I shared with my colleagues about my encounters from the previous night and how my cultural sensitivity knowledge helped me connect with the patient. I also proudly narrated to them how the patients opened up to me, which allowed me to offer better care to the patient.

References

Borude, S. (2019). Which Is a Good Diet—Veg or Non-veg? Faith-Based Vegetarianism for Protection from Obesity—a Myth or Actuality? Obesity surgery, 29(4), 1276-1280.

Lin, H. C. (2016). Impact of nurses’ cross‐cultural competence on nursing intellectual capital from a social cognitive theory perspective. Journal of advanced nursing, 72(5), 1144-1154.