University Nursing Report: REM Framework for Registered Nurses

This report examines the REM Framework, a crucial guideline for Registered Nurses in providing culturally competent care, particularly for Indigenous and Aboriginal patients in Australia. It emphasizes adherence to the framework's principles of respect, engagement, and sharing to address historical discrimination and build trust. The report details the importance of cultural understanding, person-centered care, and collaborative decision-making, aligning nursing practice with NMBA standards and promoting positive health outcomes. Strategies include empathetic communication, evidence-based research, and continuous learning to improve knowledge and skills related to Indigenous health needs. The conclusion highlights the REM Framework's role in guiding nurses toward effective and culturally sensitive care delivery. The report also includes references to key literature and guidelines from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

Running head: REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
Introduction
Nurses adhere to a variety of ethnically and culturally diverse patients, which is why,
they must also ensure compliance of their professional practice with the REM framework – a
criteria of cultural competence which recognises the rights of the indigenous and aboriginal
communities in Australia (Power et al. 2016). The following paper will choose to focus on
the strategies undertaken by the registered nurse to ensure adherence to this framework in
their nursing careers.
Nursing Position Statement: To engage in the implementation and administration, as a
Registered Nurse, of provision of care which patient-centred, culturally competent, evidence-
based and respectful of ethnic, spiritual and religious diversity.
Discussion
Cultural Aspect and the Registered Nurse
To ensure compliance to the cultural aspect patient during provision of care, the
Registered Nurse (RN) must seek to comply to the joint statement produced by the Nursing
and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM), which comprises of acknowledging the cultural
diversity of Australia, recognising the status of indigenous Australians as the First Peoples of
Australia and ensuring that provision of aboriginal patient care takes into consideration, the
role of historical and colonisation factors in informing nursing interventions (Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia 2019). The RN can adhere to the same by complying nursing
practice with the NMBA Standard 4.1 of Practice which required conductance of assessments
and nursing care which holistic, comprehensive and culturally appropriate (Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia 2019).

2REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
REM framework and the Registered Nurse
Respect
To adhere to this aspect of the REM framework, the RN must understand that
indigenous and aboriginal patients have had a history of oppression and discrimination which
may encourage their mistrust with the mainstream society and healthcare services (Friganović
et al. 2018). Hence, the RN will attempt recognise, empathise and acknowledge these
sensitivities, by not only enlightening herself on the rich history of indigenous patient but by
also engaging in empathetic, therapeutic and compassionate interpersonal communication
with the patient in order to listen to their personal stories and experiences (Shen 2015).
Engagement and Sharing
To adhere to this aspect of the REM framework in future professional nursing
practice, the RN will recognise that indigenous patients have an equal share in the therapeutic
decision-making process and hence, have a right to voice their concerns. This can be done by
the RN administering nursing care which is person centred and culturally competent, which
will comprise of direct allowing the patient to participate in the care plan decision-making
process (Clifford et al. 2015).
Moving Forward
To maintain culturally competent therapeutic relationships, the RN will seek to
engage in evidence based research and practice which will continuously improve her
knowledge on the needs of indigenous Australians. This will further include the RN regularly
following up, evaluating and monitoring the progress of the indigenous patient along with
administration of patient education and interpersonal communication to ensure advocacy,
empowerment and self-control of the patient to attain lifestyle positive health outcomes
(Power et al. 2018).

3REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
Conclusion
Hence, to conclude, the REM framework will seek to successfully guide the RN in
administration of culturally competent nursing practice. Gaining knowledge about the REM
framework will assist the RN in understanding diverse needs of aboriginal and indigenous
patients.

4REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
References
Clifford, A., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R. and Tsey, K., 2015. Interventions to improve
cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada
and the USA: a systematic review. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 27(2),
pp.89-98.
Friganović, A., Bloomer, M., Northam, H., Kalauz, S., Zellinger, M., Lopez, V. and
Fulbrook, P., 2018. Brisbane declaration: Culturally sensitive critical care nursing.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2019). Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia - NMBA and CATSINaM joint statement on culturally safe care. [online]
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. Available at:
https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Position-
Statements/joint-statement-on-culturally-safe-care.aspx [Accessed 18 May 2019].
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2019). Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia - Professional standards. [online] Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. Available at:
https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-
standards.aspx [Accessed 18 May 2019].
Power, T., Virdun, C., Gorman, E., Doab, A., Smith, R., Phillips, A. and Gray, J., 2018.
Ensuring Indigenous cultural respect in Australian undergraduate nursing students. Higher
Education Research & Development, 37(4), pp.837-851.
Power, T., Virdun, C., Sherwood, J., Parker, N., Van Balen, J., Gray, J. and Jackson, D.,
2016. REM: A collaborative framework for building indigenous cultural competence.
Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 27(5), pp.439-446.

5REM FRAMEWORK: REGISTERED NURSES
Shen, Z., 2015. Cultural competence models and cultural competence assessment instruments
in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 26(3), pp.308-321.