Module 6.02 DIVERSITY & ASSIMILATION

A Hispanic patient is examined in the emergency room. The patient speaks limited English and uses words out of context. This is an example of what cultural issue?

Assimilation Cultural assimilation is the adoption of group culture by a member or members of a different culture. Some people from immigrant backgrounds often speak their native language when they are at home, when they are with people from the same cultural background, and when they encounter stressful situations.

A nurse was treating an older adult patient that spoke very little English. The nurse became frustrated and said, 'You're in the United States, and you need to learn to speak English.' Which of the following terms best describes the nurse's actions?

Cultural imposition Cultural imposition is defined as forcefully imposing cultural beliefs, values, and patterns on someone from a different background. Great differences may occur across various ethnic groups. Health care practitioners frequently impose their own cultural values, beliefs, and practices on clients receiving care.

Choose the term that is best defined as: The differences among groups or between individuals, presenting in many forms, including age, gender, religious customs, sexual orientation, physical size, physical and mental capabilities, beliefs, culture, ethnicity, and skin color.

Diversity Diversity is the difference among groups or between individuals. There is little debate about the fact that diversity influences the nursing profession in general, and the quality of care nurses are able to provide patients. A goal in nursing profession nurses is to attain a cultural profile of nurses that mirror the demographics of the population to be served.

In which ways can a nurse build cultural competence to better serve patients? Select all that apply.

Examining personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices, Learn culturally specific communication strategies, Interact with different cultures The journey to cultural competence begins with an examination of attitudes, which reflect personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices. Attitudes result from evaluative judgments that may have developed over time, either during childhood or from life experience. Once a person identifies areas for attitudinal and/or behavioral change, even longstanding negative attitudes and beliefs may be changed. However, sometimes a personal experience with one or more people from a cultural group may be required to eliminate individual biases and prejudices. Once health team members are aware of key cultural differences, they can develop specific communication strategies to tear down barriers and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate health care.

True or false: Nursing as a profession is culturally diverse, as most practicing nurses come from culturally diverse groups.

FALSE This statement is false. The influx of people from other cultures as health care team members is expected to increase as the cultural diversity in the overall population increases. Lack of adequate representation of various cultural groups in health care teams has been linked to disparities in access to care services and health care outcomes. According to 2018 National Workforce Survey of Registered Nurses, around 73% of all American RNs are White. The rest of the population surveyed self-identified as: 10.2% Hispanic/Latinx, 7.8% Black/African American, 5.2% Asian, 2.6% multiracial, and 0.9% Native North American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.

The nurse is caring for a patient from Somalia. The nurse must do which of the following to provide the best care for the patient?

Learn about the patient's cultural practices Health care professionals often expect underrepresented groups to adapt to the established norms and policies of the institution, rather than the institution adapting to the needs of underrepresented groups. To become an organization that these groups find accommodating, health care institutions must have their professionals learn about the social structure and processes of each underrepresented group served.

Strategies used to decrease issues such as bias, stereotyping, and prejudice in the health care field include:

Reflecting on personal beliefs and values The journey to cultural competence begins with an examination of attitudes, which reflect personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices.

One strategy to reduce cultural assimilation issues within a health care institution is:

educating health care professionals about the social organization and processes of each underrepresented group served. To several transcultural nursing specialists, cultural awareness serves as an antecedent toward obtaining specific communication strategies and knowledge about other cultures.

A hospital administrator who desired to increase nursing staff diversity by recruiting more nurses from underrepresented groups would need to address which of the following challenges? Select all that apply.

- Academic opportunity gaps, - Financial problems, - Inadequate social support, - Inadequate numbers of faculty role models from underrepresented groups Current efforts to increase cultural diversity in the nursing profession include offering nursing scholarships, grant programs, and targeted recruitment efforts for underrepresented groups. However, many challenges remain in this recruitment effort, including academic opportunity gaps, financial problems, inadequate social support, and inadequate numbers of faculty role models from underrepresented groups.