Community Health Nurses Strategies and Free Sample

Question: How can community health nurses apply the strategies of cultural competence to their practice? Provide at least one example from each of the following four strategies: cultural preservation, cultural accommodation, cultural repatterning, and cultural brokering. What is a possible barrier to applying the strategy/example chosen? Answer: Strategies Of Cultural Competence In Nursing Cultural competence plays an important role in nursing practice. In order to address the cultural issues and needs of multicultural society, nurses must strive to be culturally competent in their profession (Whitfield, 2013). The community health nurses can apply the strategies of cultural competence to their practice by adopting community participatory practice based approach. This can help the nurses to develop and adopt the knowledge of the culture, tradition, strengths and history of culturally diverse communities. Also, nurses are able to better understand the cultural background of communities as well as the characteristics of individual or group. This practice can reveal important cultural aspects of diverse communities. Therefore, in recent society, implementation of health care practices with cultural competency is very much needful (Aponte, 2012). The following four strategies of cultural competence in nursing have been discussed: Cultural Preservation A nurse using cultural preservation supports the use of such cultural practices which are scientifically and methodically sound. Example: An Indian patient is about to go for a major heart surgery and patients family wants to gather near him to pray before he heads to operation theatre. Nurses role involve encouraging this kind of behaviour among them (Barbaran, 2011). Cultural Accommodation A nurse using cultural accommodation supports the use of such cultural practices which have proven to be not harmful. Example: It is believed that placing a key or some metal object on the navel of Mexican new born baby could promote healing and nurses allowing this harmless ritual practice cultural accommodation (Davis, 2012). Cultural Repatterning A nurse using cultural repatterning supports the use of such practices which helps the patient to change the cultural practices which are harmful. Example: A nurse needs to negotiate with the patient who is indulged in the use of herbs due to cultural values and restrain him from use of particular herbs that can cause adverse effects (Huber, 2009). Cultural Brokering A nurse using cultural brokering need to use his/her cultural and health science understandings as well as skills to negotiate with the patient and health care systems for an effective, beneficial and proper health care plan (Halabisky et al., 2010). Example: A nurse acting as culture broker is responsible to bridge the gap between patients of differing cultures. Possible barrier to applying the strategy/example chosen: The possible barriers that could arise in application of the above discussed strategies are cultural and linguistic barriers, cultural diversity and beliefs (Reimer et al., 2001). An example: encouraging women to attend free breast-feeding classes prior to delivery of new born baby and explaining them about possible health benefits associated with breast-feeding using Cultural repatterning and Cultural accommodation strategies of cultural competence. Such strategies employed by nurses encourages women to change such cultural practices which are harmful (cultural repatterning) and switch to using formula-feed milk which is considered to be the gold standard for infant feeding (cultural accommodation). References Aponte, J. (2012). Cultural Competency in Baccalaureate US Nursing Education. Holistic Nursing Practice, vol. 26(5), pp. 243-258. doi:10.1097/hnp.0b013e318263f2c9 Barbarn, F. (2011). Cultural Preservation Program for Alaska. Interchange, vol. 42(2), pp. 205-214. doi:10.1007/s10780-011-9155-2 Davis, C. (2012). Health care for homeless people: the role of emergency nurses. Emergency Nurse, vol. 20(2), pp. 24-27. doi:10.7748/en2012.05.20.2.24.c9104 Halabisky, B., Humbert, J., Stodel, E., Macdonald, C., Chambers, L., and Doucette, S. et al. (2010). Elearning, Knowledge Brokering, and nursing. Cin: computers, Informatics, Nursing, vol. 28(5), pp. 264-273. doi:10.1097/ncn.0b013e3181ec28b9 Huber, L.M. (2009). Making Community health care culturally correct. American Nurse Today, www.AmericanNurseToday.com Reimer, T.T. et al., (2001). Cultural Barriers to Care: Inverting the Problem. Diabetes Spectrum, vol. 14(1), 2001. Whitfield, J. (2013). Cultural Competency in Nursing Practice. Retrieved on 18th July, 2015 from https://online.ben.edu/blog/health/cultural-competency-in-nursing-practice