‭Breanne Fulling‬

‭NSG 321 - Population Health‬

‭Reflection Paper‬
‭Dr. Mantione‬
‭10/20/23‬
‭The Culturally Competent Nursing Care: A Cornerstone of Caring course reviewed‬
‭definitions of being culturally competent, in-depth meanings of culture and health disparities in‬
‭communities, and how those ideas should affect healthcare. This course specifically applies to‬
‭nursing because in order to do our jobs successfully, we need to be culturally competent. In‬
‭nursing school, we are taught to ask 4 introductory questions when we meet new patients. The‬
‭first two are identity questions, the third involves allergies to prevent reactions in the hospital,‬
‭and the last is asking if there are any cultural or spiritual beliefs we as nurses need to be aware‬
‭of. Culture often plays a part when patients are in the hospital; an example would be Jehovah’s‬
‭Witnesses, who cannot receive blood transfusions due to their religion and culture.‬
‭Multiple models are shown in this course that show that healthcare providers must be‬
‭culturally competent. One interesting model would be Campinha-Bacote’s model, where‬
‭culturally competent healthcare providers are encouraged to seek cultural awareness, obtain‬
‭cultural knowledge, develop skills to conduct culturally sensitive assessments, and develop‬
‭self-awareness. This applies to not only physicians but nurses as well, specifically public health‬
‭nurses. This is because public health nurses deal with people from all walks of life and in all‬
‭areas of the country. In my opinion, public health nurses have to be the most culturally‬
‭competent of us all because of how frequently they deal with culture affecting the care they give.‬
‭Public health nurses must assess family dynamics and structure, communication barriers, and‬
‭adherence to medical advice, all of which could be affected by their cultural or spiritual beliefs.‬
‭This webinar will have a smaller impact on me as a graduate OR nurse than it will for‬
‭nurses working on a typical medical-surgical floor, but I will still be able to carry this into my‬
‭practice because, like I said before, if I have a Jehovah’s Witness on the operating table and their‬
‭condition is declining, my team and I would have to figure out alternate solutions to saving the‬
‭patient other than blood transfusions if we were not given consent. With that being said, I would‬
‭recommend this webinar to next year's seniors because there was a clear message about how‬
‭nurses can be culturally competent in their work, which would be beneficial for all nursing‬
‭students to learn.‬