Question

Three dimensions of cultural competence include self-awareness, respectful communication, and collaborative partnerships. We all have our own biases and need to recognize them in order to provide culturally competent care. Our clients are experts on their culture and can teach us in order to better understand and care for them.

Identify your own biases and discuss what changes you would recommend for yourself in order to become a more culturally competent individual. List a minimum of one resource, using APA formatting, that supports your discussion.

Answer 1

Cultural competence, the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures, helps to ensure the needs of all community members are addressed

Understanding and becoming aware of one’s own cultural values, beliefs, attitudes and judgments becomes central when we have to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds.,

We are not born with our perceptions or culture, we shape the way we see the world as we learn our culture. However, it becomes so natural to us that we forget we have learnt our culture – we are only reminded of it when we are exposed to another culture

cultural self awareness : David Livermore, a prominent thought leader on cultural intelligence, states: “The inward, transformative journey of cultural intelligence involves a heightened understanding of our own cultural background.

Cultural respect :Culture may described as the combination of a body of knowledge, a body of belief and a body of behavior. It supports a number of elements, as personal identification, language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions that are often specific to ethnic, racial, religious, geographic, or social groups.These elements are very important for those who provide health information or health care, these elements influence beliefs & belief systems surrounding health, healing, wellness, illness, disease, and delivery of health services. The concept of cultural respect has a positive effect on patient care delivery by enabling providers to deliver services that are respectful of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse patients.

Cllaborative partnership: may be defined as an agreements & actions made by consenting organizations to share resources to accomplish a mutual goal. Collaborative partnerships depend on participation two or more parties who agree to share resources, for example finances, knowledge, & people. Organizations in a collaborative partnership share common goals. The aim of collaborative partnership is for all parties to mutually benefit from working together.

There are various methods by which one can become a more culturally competent individuals if checked out.

1. Recognize that culture extends beyond skin color. .
2. Find out each patient's cultural background.
3. Determine your cultural effectiveness.
4. Make your patients feel “at home.”
5. Conduct culturally sensitive evaluations.
6. Elicit patient expectations and preferences
7. Understand your cultural identity.