Cultural Safety and Respect in Medical and Palliative Care Wards

This report focuses on the critical role of cultural safety and respect in palliative care nursing. It emphasizes the need for nurses to engage with patients in a culturally sensitive and respectful manner to enhance the efficiency and safety of their practice. The report highlights strategies such as minimizing power imbalances, fostering respectful relationships through conversation, and valuing cultural diversity. It underscores the importance of self-reflection, cultural responsiveness, and clear communication to create a supportive environment. The report also discusses how respecting cultural values can increase patient engagement, build trust with families, and facilitate better communication within the healthcare team, ultimately improving patient outcomes and satisfaction. References from Conroy et al. (2017), Greenwood et al. (2017), Håkanson et al. (2016), and Shannon et al. (2018) are included to support the arguments.

MEDICAL AND PALLIATIVE CARE WARD
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During provision of palliative care, it is essential to engage with patients in a culturally safe
and in a proper respectful manner. It is critical to reflect this behavior in the practice that can
help to increase efficiency and safety of the practice. This can be included in the practice by
minimizing the power differentials between the client and nurse. As opined by Conroy et al.
(2017), power imbalance between nurse and patient, acts as a potential inhibitor of
relationship. A nurse who is providing palliative care should respect the rights of patients and
provide greater emphasis on care. Moreover, the nurse needs to engage in conversation with
the client, which can help to create a respectful relationship. This, in turn, can help to conduct
evidence-based nursing practice. Another effective part of palliative care nursing practice is
treating people by respecting their culture and individual differences. A nurse should not dis-
empower or demean others with actions (Greenwood et al. 2017). They need to work by
maintaining the value of diversity between cultures. Respecting others' culture, values and
beliefs can impact on a relationship between a nurse and patient. Thus, treatment process can
be designed in a proper way. Practice can be improved by providing cultural safety and
respectful environment to a patient. This can be done by reflecting on own practice and
improving it. Self-reflection helps in thinking about own actions and character. Thus, practice
can be improved through this process. It is important to ensure cultural responsiveness to
fulfill the needs of patients from different cultural backgrounds. Nurses are liable to be polite
while communicating with patients and they must listen to the cultural values of the patients.
Clear understanding of different cultural background can help them to create a culturally safe
environment while providing palliative care.
Providing respect to the cultural value of the patient make them feel that they are important as
others. Moreover, the healthcare organization must provide respect to their culture. This kind
of attitude of nurses increases engagement of patients in the treatment process. As mentioned
by Håkanson et al. (2016), patients, who cooperate with the care process, recover fast. In the
case of palliative care, it is important to get cooperation from the patient to enhance patient
care. Due to this reason, culturally safe environment must be created by responsible nurses
while providing palliative care. On the other hand, respecting cultural background of patient
helps family members of patients to trust the organization. They cooperate with the
healthcare system for ensuring wellbeing for the patient. Patients feel the openness between
them and the nurses and easily share their issues with nurses. This information must be
conveyed with the responsible healthcare team to provide better care. However, in that case,
basic confidentiality must be maintained by the responsible nurses. As mentioned by
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Shannon et al. (2018), engagement of nurses in a respectful and culturally safe environment
allows them to educate patients and their relatives about care process after release from the
hospital. This approach can help in improving the health condition of the patient.
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Reference list
Conroy, T., Feo, R., Boucaut, R., Alderman, J. and Kitson, A., 2017. Role of effective nurse-
patient relationships in enhancing patient safety. Nursing Standard, 31(49).
Greenwood, M., Lindsay, N., King, J. and Loewen, D., 2017. Ethical spaces and places:
Indigenous cultural safety in British Columbia health care. AlterNative: An International
Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 13(3), pp.179-189.
Håkanson, C., Sandberg, J., Ekstedt, M., Kenne Sarenmalm, E., Christiansen, M. and Öhlén,
J., 2016. Providing palliative care in a Swedish support home for people who are homeless.
Qualitative health research, 26(9), pp.1252-1262.
Shannon, K., Grealish, L., and Cruickshank, M., 2018. The care of older people with
dementia in rural Australian hospitals-a case study. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing,
The, 36(1), p.6.
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