Cultural Safety in Healthcare

Running head: CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE 1
CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE
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CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE 2
CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTH CARE
Cultural safety is a term first used by Maori health caregivers in New Zealand. It
is used extensively and rigorously in regards to the healthcare of the indigenous
populations (Willis & Elmer, 2007).In Australia, these are the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people who represent Australia’s first population. They have undergone
great hardships since the colonization of Australia by settlers from Europe. The
difficulties adversely affect their health, which remains poor in comparison to the health
of non-indigenous Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also lack
access to certain crucial health services such as allied healthcare and medical
specialists. The Australian government has put effort towards providing equity and
equality in the country through different programs including; Closing the Gap and the
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023 (Laverty,
McDermott &Calma, 2017). Closing the gap is a movement aiming at closing the health
and life expectancy gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians
(Goold, 2011). Cultural safety is achieved whereby the indigenous population feel
respected and safe and do not experience discrimination or racism while accessing
health care service (Hart-Wasekeesikaw & Gregory, 2009).
Part One
The goal of this cultural safety action plan is to ensure that all my clients or
patients are satisfied and happy with the care they are given. As a nurse and midwife,
this personal action plan would enable me to be more holistic, relational and
conscientious in care provision to my patients. It can also guide me into respecting each
client’s values, beliefs and culture and thus I would be able to incorporate equality in
health care provision. As a rural and remote nurse in Australia, I work with different
communities that are endorsed with beliefs, values and a lifestyle that is very different
from what I am used to. Recently I moved and I am currently working with a sub-
community of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The objectives I am
aiming to achieve with this cultural safety action plan include;

CULTURAL SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE 3
 understanding the people’s way of life and respecting their wishes during
caregiving
 creating a strong relationship with my clients and their family members as well
 giving the best care possible within the culturally safe context for the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people
 care for each patient as autonomously as practical paying attention to their
specific needs
 Portray professionalism and competency while at work
The additional training I would require to achieve these objectives include learning
the people’s language and way of life. Being acquainted with the language of the
community would enable me to communicate better with my patients and family
members and the instructions I give would be more thoroughly understood. The
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people mostly suffer from chronic conditions such
as diabetes, cancer, trauma, heart disease and even mental illnesses (Vos et al., 2009).
Thus the directives on medication and management of such diseases should be well
comprehended even by family members and other caregivers who are helping the
patient. Getting to know a people’s way of life would definitely take longer and therefore
I have to pay more attention to the patient’s and the family’s wishes and avoid being
offensive to them. Although creating a strong bond with my patients is key, I also have
to be professional. To advance my career and enhance my competency, I would aim to
increase my knowledge base on nursing and midwifery.
One of the barriers I would come across with this plan has to do with time
management. Australian rural and remote areas do not have a large workforce and
therefore the nurses have to work overtime sometimes and even do the work of other
medical staff due to lack of specialization in these regions. I might, therefore, have to
learn the community’s lifestyle and language while at work which might be challenging
or ineffective. In order to evaluate my progress, I would be asking each patient about
their experience in the hospital when their time is over or even before. I would be taking
notes of this, highlighting areas I need to improve and commending myself for the