This concept of being culturally diverse is important due to amount of different cultures that we come in contact with daily in our profession. Self awareness is only the first step in being culturally diverse. Self awareness involves understanding ones own cultural beliefs including their values, and determining any biases that they may have towards others from different cultures than their own. The analysis of ones own individual values and beliefs allows us to become less uneasy of those whose beliefs and values differ from their own (Iheduru-Anderson, 2015). Along with being self aware, the appropriate knowledge about different cultures as well as the skills to take care of individuals with different cultures is important as well. Being aware and having a basic understanding of different cultural beliefs allows healthcare providers to ensure that each patient is receiving the proper care to meet their cultural needs. The actions related to cultural diversity within the nursing profession ultimately led to and aided in the formation of the transcultural nursing movement developed by Madeline Leininger (Lowe & Archibald, 2012). The early focus of transcultural nursing as stated early was to bring sensitivity to the differences between healthcare providers own cultures to the …show more content…
There are a multitude of ways that I establish in order to provide sensitive care to meet the cultural needs of my patients. These include a cultural self assessment, assessing the cultural needs of each of my patients, and assessing for proper understanding. By carrying out a cultural self assessment, I allow myself to bring forth to my conscious my values and beliefs that drive my practice. Being aware of my own values and beliefs allows me to be open to the possible different values and beliefs that my patients may hold. Moreover, I then perform a cultural assessment on my patients to determine their cultural needs that they have to ensure I am providing them with the necessary care. In many circumstances, there is a direct correlation with how patients view disease processes and their cultural beliefs. Therefore, it is important to assess and understand alternative healthcare practices that are custom to each patient to prevent any unwanted care. Lastly, an important part of providing culturally sensitive care is by assessing for the individuals understanding. This becomes important when we come into contact with different cultures in which English is not the primary language. Assessing for proper comprehension is crucial to make sure that the patient’s beliefs are being taken into account so that we can stand as an advocate for