Chapter 6: Culture and Ethnicity

The nurse is caring for a Hispanic client admitted with an upper respiratory infection. The client tells the nurse that he follows the holistic belief of hot/cold. Which food items should the nurse provide to the client based on this information?

soup, hot tea, and toast

A nurse examining a black newborn finds a macular, blue-black area of pigmentation near the buttocks. Which action the nurse would be most appropriate?

Consider it as normal assessment finding.

The nurse is assessing a toddler and notes the dark, blue spots on the infant's thigh and arms. What action should the nurse take?

Press on the pigment area and observe the toddler's reaction.

A black client refuses to allow any health care worker of Asian descent to provide care. This client is demonstrating what practice?

Racism

A nurse is assigned to care for a client who speaks Turkish. Which action by the nurse would be most effective when providing care for this client?

Requesting the assistance of a trained interpreter

The nurse overhears a colleague state, "All people from that client's country are rude." What is the appropriate nursing response?

Respond by saying, "Stereotypes keep us from accepting others as unique individuals."

The home health nurse is conducting a health history interview with a client that immigrated from Mexico 3 months ago. What action observed by the nurse would indicate that the client is adapting to the majority culture?

The client reads books in the language of the new country.

When a client states, "I only want a white doctor," the client is expressing cultural:

ethnocentrism.

The nurse is caring for a client of Asian descent and is post-operative 24 hours from an appendectomy. The client is hesitant to get out of bed. How should the nurse respond?

"Can you describe what you are feeling when you try to move?"

The clinic nurse is obtaining demographic data from a client. The client states, "Why do you need to know what my ethnicity is?" How should the nurse respond?

"Collecting this information allows us to develop a personalized plan of care to meet your needs."

The nurse is interviewing a client who is Native American/First Nations. What question would be best to ask this client?

"Do you use herbal or medicinal plants?"

The nurse is collecting the health history of a client and notes the client is apprehensive in answering questions. The client states, "My spiritual healer will be here soon." What is the best response by the nurse

"We can wait until your spiritual healer arrives and work together to answer these questions.

Which questions should the nurse include in a cultural assessment? Select all that apply.

"What do you think is causing your illness?" "What religion do you belong to?" "What do you do to promote good health?" "Do have a particular name for this illness?"

The nurse is taking a client history. With which client is direct eye contact appropriate?

32-year-old white woman

A nurse has been cautioned by a nursing educator to ensure that stereotyping does not influence the nurse's beliefs, behaviors and interactions with clients from other cultures. What action by the nurse would be considered stereotyping?

Ascribing attributes to members of a particular culture that are unsupported by facts

A client from which culture might find touching of the head impolite?

Asian

The nurse is assessing an older adult of Asian decent who immigrated at the age of 3 years. The client speaks the dominant language and lives in a predominantly Asian neighborhood. Which action by the nurse is most appropriate?

Ask the client about special cultural beliefs or practices.

The nurse admits a Native American/First Nations client to the critical care unit to rule out a myocardial infarction (MI). The client has several family members in the waiting room. Which nursing action is most appropriate?

Ask the client their personal beliefs about family support during hospitalization.

The cardiologist advises the client to undergo angioplasty, a procedure to clear blocked coronary arteries. The client refuses the procedure and the nurse later discovers that the client believes in naturopathy and is taking herbal extracts to clear the coronary arteries. Which action should the nurse take?

Ask the client to opt for herbal therapy and also undergo the procedure

The nurse is caring for a client of Asian descent. The client is ostoperative 3 days from coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The client has a prescription to ambulate. What is the best action by the nurse?

Discuss with the client the need for assistance during ambulation.

The client is an Inuit woman recently admitted to the hospital with a ruptured ovarian cyst. She has expressed that it is very important that her husband be present to receive all medical information. Using the concepts of culturally competent care, which is the best response?

Document the client's request in the nursing care plan.

When a home-bound client expresses her past-oriented ancestral heritage and family rituals, the nurse recognizes that the client is expressing:

Ethnic identity

The nurse is caring for a client who perceives time differently. What action should the nurse take for this client?

Maintain flexibility when the client requests interventions at specific times.

A nurse at a long-term care facility has completed a comprehensive assessment of an 83-year-old woman with Asian heritage has just moved to the facility. The assessment reveals that the new resident has a lactase deficiency. How should the nurse integrate this knowledge into the resident's care?

The nurse should ensure that the resident is not given dairy products

The nurse is caring for a client who is terminally ill and recently immigrated to the country. The nurse understands that in order to provide quality end-of-life care for the client, what would be the priority action by the nurse?

Understand the client's personal and cultural views regarding death and dying.

A community health nurse is providing care to a group of Hispanic people living in an area that is heavily populated by white people. What are the Hispanic people in this community an example of?

a minority

The charge nurse overhears two new graduate nurses talking in the break-room. One graduate nurse states, "I hate getting reports from the older nurses; they are just too slow." The charge nurse understands that the nurse is demonstrating what?

ageism

Nurses are responsible for delivering culturally competent care for all clients. Culturally competent care does not account for:

client's height

A nurse engages in professional rituals as a means to standardize practice and ensure efficiency. In doing so, the nurse integrates understanding of:

common and observable expressions of culture.

A nurse is caring for a 55-year-old man from Thailand. The client has bacterial pneumonia and a temperature of 104°F (40.0°C); yesterday his temperature was 102°F (38.9°C). The physician on call prescribes cool compresses for the client to help lower the fever. However, the client insists that the nurse bring him warm blankets because they will help him recover more quickly. The nurse recognizes that the client's request is an example of:

cultural ritual.

The emergency department (ED) nurse is caring for a client who recently immigrated from China and was injured in a motor vehicle collision (MVC). The nurse should implement interventions aimed at addressing which issue?

cultural shock

A nurse is caring for an older adult from a far eastern culture. How does the nurse demonstrate awareness of culturally competent care?

establishing effective communication

The use of one's culture as a cultural standard is known as:

ethnocentrism

The nurse is caring for a client whose language skills are very limited in the dominant language. Which nursing action is appropriate when communicating with the client?

obtaining a certified interpreter

Which stereotypical ideas about older adult clients does the nurse associate with the concept of ageism? Select all that apply.

physically impaired burdensome to family uninterested in intimacy

Which behaviors demonstrated by the client would the nurse consider as reflection of the client's pride in ethnicity? Select all that apply.

requesting native cuisine listening to folk music and dance asking to wear person unique clothing

The nurse is caring for a Native American/First Nations client who has been given a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Which reaction does the nurse anticipate?

stoic listening without display of emotion

The staff nurse overhears the charge nurse talking to the unlicensed assistant personal (UAP). Which statement made by the charge nurse is an example of ethnocentrism?

talians are best at everything."

The mother of a black newborn asks the nurse about the bluish-black areas she noticed around the infant's lower back and buttocks. What is the nurse's best response?

"These areas are normal and should disappear by early childhood."

The nurse is caring for the teenage child of immigrants from China. The teenager voices distress because after living in the country for several years, he no longer wants to participate in some of the Chinese religious rituals that are important to his parents. What is the teenager experiencing?

Cultural change

Which area is typically included in a cultural assessment?

Food preferences

A nurse at a small, rural hospital which lacks professional interpreter services has admitted a client who does not speak the dominant language. How should the nurse best communicate with this client?

Utilize a telephone-based interpreting service in order to communicate clearly with the client

Which nursing actions are appropriate when collecting a health history for a client whose primary language is Spanish? Select all that apply.

Utilize the facility telephonic interpreting system. Have a bilingual nurse assist with the health history Request assistance from a certified-interpreter.

While performing the initial assessment of an infant, the nurse notes a soiled string of yarn around the infant's neck. What action should the nurse take?

Ask the parent the purpose of the string and if it can be placed elsewhere on the infant's body.

The newly employed nurse working in a physician's office seeks advice on the job responsibilities and how best to implement these responsibilities. Who is the key informant for this nurse?

the nurse who has been working in this office for 8 years

An 8-year-old black child is admitted to the pediatric unit for a tonsillectomy. On physical examination, the nurse finds that the child has keloid scarring on the chest. What should be the nurse's reaction?

Consider the keloid normal for the ethnic background.

The nurse is caring for two clients from an Hispanic background. The nurse notices some differences between the two in the religious practices and the slang used for communicating. What is most likely the etiology of these differences?

Ethnicity

A nurse in the hospital is caring for a Native American/First Nations male. Which statement should best guide the nurse's care?

There may be a role for a tribal medicine man in the client's care.

The new nurse is caring for a client of Asian descent. What should the nurse expect when caring for this client?

This client will require the nurse to keep an arm's length distance.

Nursing students are socialized into the:

health care culture.

Some Native American/First Nation clients may be uncomfortable when nurses write down what they say because:

their culture preserves history through oral expression.

What are characteristics of nurses that make them a subculture? Select all that apply.

uniforms worn based on place of employment language or medical terminology used to communicate legal authorization to provide health care to others

The nurse is teaching about sources of calcium for a client newly diagnosed with lactose intolerance. The client would require further teaching if which food is chosen?

yogurt