Health and quality health care is deserved of everyone, no matter their cultural background, religion, or beliefs. These factors do, however, influence a person's health, ability to seek medical help, and their response to medical care. In order to provide safe, competent care, a nurse must be knowledgeable and respectful of each patient's culture and beliefs. Considering patient's cultural beliefs increases the likelihood that the patient will be satisfied with his or her care, which in turn increases the probability that the patient will continue with treatment and follow up.
In order to provide culturally competent health care, a nurse must have active diversity awareness. This means the nurse would be able to recognize similarities and differences within and between different cultural groups. Part of being culturally competent for a nurse is understanding one's own views on culture, as well as views of the patients. It is very important to be aware and understand the patient's views without judging or stereotyping. To begin, one must be aware of all the different aspects of diversity. This can include, but is not limited to: birthplace, citizenship status, reason for migration, migration history, food, religion, ethnicity, race, language, family networks, educational background, employment skills, lifestyle, gender, socioeconomic status, politics, past discrimination, health status, health risk, age, insurance coverage, and many more variables (Jeffreys, 2008). Culturally competent care must be customized for each patient. It is extremely important to each patient's well - being that all nurses incorporate a cultural assessment into their initial assessment and then the patient's culture beliefs and values should be included in the plan of care. The nurse should ask about any home remedies or folk medicine use, as sometimes patients will leave this information out if not specifically asked about it.
