Analyzing the Impact of Culture on Professional Nursing Practice

This essay delves into the profound influence of culture on nursing practice, emphasizing the importance of cultural competence in healthcare. It defines cultural competencies and highlights the complexities of nursing as a multifaceted cultural practice. The essay examines how cultural diversity, including beliefs, traditions, and values, affects patient care and professional interactions. It explores barriers that arise between healthcare providers and patients due to cultural differences, discussing factors like health beliefs, religion, and diverse care needs. Strategies to overcome these barriers, such as training programs and education on cultural awareness, are also addressed. The essay concludes by reiterating the critical role of understanding and respecting cultural differences in achieving positive patient outcomes and fostering effective nursing practices within the health and social care sector. The essay references various sources to support its arguments, including books and journals.

Impact of culture on
Professional Practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Impact of culture on nursing practice..........................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................4
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INTRODUCTION
Culture competencies can be defined as ability of organisation for delivering health care
services. This would help in meeting the social, culture as well as linguistic needs of people.
Nursing practice is said to be most complex activity in health and social care sector. It is also
known as multilayered culture of practice which qualify itself with every interaction (Forte and
Flores, 2014). The purpose of present essay is to highlight major problems and issues of culture
diversity which directly impacts on nursing practice. It also explore barriers which come between
health professionals and patients as well as ways to overcome from the same.
Impact of culture on nursing practice
Culture can be defined as beliefs, shared traditions, customers and institutions of a certain
group of society, having same religion or ethnicity. It is also stated as pattern of responses
developed by a particular society to solve a specific problem. In context with organisation,
culture competencies brings knowledge of different people together and transform it into policies
or standards that make everything work (McCormack and McCance, 2016). Thus, culture
competencies has capacity to bring people together under cross-culture settings and work
effectively. It helps in producing better outcomes and adds operational effectiveness as well. In
context with professional practices like nursing in health and social care, there are many factors
that nurses must consider for delivering culturally competent care. Nursing is becoming a
cultural melting pot due to migration within the field. It includes health beliefs and religion
which directly impacts on nursing practice. For this process, to provide effective services to
patients, it is essential for such professionals to understand the concept of cultural difference. It
refers to those attributes which differentiate a group of people or individuals from others. This
concept includes demographical factors like race, gender, age etc. and values or norms of people.
In health and social sector (HSC), cultural difference between services providers, patients
and others, are actually occurred due to beliefs and religion. It arise discrepancies in nursing
practices which directly affect patients compliance in negative manner. According to belief of
Roberts (2016), attitude and beliefs of individuals in respect to illness, identifies their
behavioural response towards procedure of treatment. Therefore, it becomes essential for nurses
and other service providers to determine patients belief. It will help them to meet specific needs
of individuals related to health issues as well as optimise their care also. In addition to this, own
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health belief of nurses also reflect the potentials for influencing attitudes towards patients. For
example: A service provider in HSC, deals with patients more harmoniously and respect their
belief while giving treatment (Manojlovich and Ketefian, 2016). While in same place, another
nurse force people who are facing health issues, to take medicines without listening towards their
belief. Thus, both cases shows the cultural difference as well as ways of giving treatment.
Similarly, diverse care needs of ill persons also impact on nursing practice. Lack of awareness
and insensitivity to cultural difference of nursing staff shows poor patient compliance to
treatment, negatively impact on patient care. Therefore, to meet health needs of patients, nurses
must treat them fairly and with dignity. Along with this, they should give respect to personal
belief of people also. This would help in reducing the occurrence of discrepancies which
adversely affect nursing practices of service providers in HSC.
As per belief and opinion of Laschinger (2014), it has evaluated that apart from socio-
culture difference, there are many other factors present which impact on nursing practice. It
includes education background, socio-economic factors, lifestyle and more. Therefore,
increasing diversities and developing education background of people , influence care strategies
and professionalism within practices. For example: A patients having good knowledge of
medicines or belongs to high educational background, prefer to read whole medical report first
before taking any treatment. They analyse what type of prescriptions are going to be given to
them and the way it impacts on their health. Therefore, under such case, it creates complexity in
front of service providers to deal with such patients. As they have to give proper respect to belief
and norms of such people. Therefore, it assists nurses to change strategies to get positive
behavioural response of them towards treatment. Since there are several strategies are employed
at HSC to improve culturally competent practice and cultural awareness within nursing. For
example: Giving training and learning sessions to nurses to reduce the health inequalities, which
exist across cultural groups. It is considered as the best way to improve nursing care provided at
health care organisations. Under this session, nurses can enhance knowledge related to cultural
differences between Eastern and Western nursing practice (Mackelprang, Salsgiver and
Salsgiver, 2016). Through this process, they will also understand concept of religious influences
of nursing throughout the world. By learning about cultural difference, aid nurses to adopt
effective strategies and approaches for providing better care. It includes Holistic and Easter
nursing approaches, which provide different-different criteria of nursing practices. Holistic
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nurses treat patients on individual basis with true-case like healing the mind, soul and body of
patients. While herbal therapies and cleansing includes in Easter nursing approaches which
seems to be more healthier than holistic. Therefore, it is necessary for nurses to conduct study
about different-different approaches of nursing which leads them to provide better health
services.
CONCLUSION
From this report, it has analysed that cultural difference at any organisation create a large
impact on professional practices. Different beliefs, practices, values and language are considered
as those aspects which differentiate individuals or group of people from each other. It either
foster or hinder the skills of people having cultural difference at organisation. In context with
health and social factor, belief of patients, working staff and all associated people, directly
impact on nursing practices. It also influences way of giving treatment and how patient perceive
health issues. Therefore, it is necessary for nurses to understand the concept of cultural
competencies and must respect belief and opinion of patients. It would help in getting positive
behavioural response or patients towards illness and treatment.
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REFERENCE
Books and Journals
Mackelprang, R. W., Salsgiver, R. O. and Salsgiver, R., 2016. Disability: A diversity model
approach in human service practice. Oxford University Press.
Laschinger, H. K. S., 2014. Impact of workplace mistreatment on patient safety risk and nurse-
assessed patient outcomes. Journal of Nursing Administration. 44(5). pp.284-290.
Manojlovich, M. and Ketefian, S., 2016. The effects of organizational culture on nursing
professionalism: Implications for health resource planning. Canadian Journal of
Nursing Research Archive. 33(4).
McCormack, B. and McCance, T. eds., 2016. Person-centred practice in nursing and health
care: Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.
Roberts, M., 2016. Mediation in family disputes: principles of practice. Routledge.
Forte, A. M. and Flores, M. A., 2014. Teacher collaboration and professional development in the
workplace: A study of Portuguese teachers. European Journal of Teacher Education.
37(1). pp.91-105.
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