Culture and Healthcare Reflection Essay

Culture and Healthcare Reflection Essay Greg Levy Cleveland State University HSC 305 November 22, 2019 For those seeking a career in healthcare, having a basic understanding of health and the varying dynamics between cultures allows for positive interactions with clients. Generally speaking, culture can be categorized through race, ethnicity, religion and gender. The dynamics within these cultures are often nuanced and complex posing challenges for health care providers. As a healthcare practitioner you are bound to interact with patients from backgrounds foreign to your understanding. That it is why it is essential to be conscientious and understanding of the unique identities of individual patients. Health care is a fundamental need for all, however in the US there are many communities who face unique sets of issues, issues that must be understood and addressed by healthcare professionals. In order to be able to navigate the barriers between clients we must be able to establish common ground despite differing backgrounds. Every person has a different set of beliefs, traditions and norms. In modern society we often times judge those who have culture and beliefs outside the norm as strange. This course is designed to show us the error in that thinking and provide us with ideology to better see past differences and be able to provide the utmost quality care and be culturally competent. As health care practitioners we must understand the concept of cultural competency which can be simply defined as the ability to relate to and understand the views of individuals who are different than we are. This means being able to appropriately interact with individuals from different backgrounds (race, ethnicity, religion, language, etc.). One concept that really altered my perspective on how I viewed health was how different certain cultures view and define health and illness. Different cultures have different perspectives and associations that help them define these terms and there is no set definition for health and illness much like culture. These terms are all defined on an individual basis as well as being influenced by religious and cultural beliefs. Views on illnesses, how the illness is contracted, how illness should be treated and healthcare are all influenced by cultural values. Often times a heath care practitioner will encounter a patient that they might not fully understand. However, it is beneficial for the provider to remain understanding and respectful to the patient. In order to provide consistently adequate health care and prevent misunderstandings cultural competency must be maintained to the best of the practitioner’s ability. One safe way to do this is to be mindful, observative and avoid generalizations that may be offensive to people from certain backgrounds. As a healthcare practitioner our overarching goal is to be able to treat a client for whatever health issues they may have and sometimes they have different healthcare traditions and standards. The western standard of healthcare may conflict with their traditions as many groups, specifically immigrants use folk remedies and therapies. Despite this difference traditional healers and western medicine can co-exist. This course has taught me that I will have to establish an understanding of different cultures and the importance of such as these cultures shape an individual’s views on healthcare. The concepts that were taught in this course didn’t necessarily challenge me as I already use some (such as being respectful and mindful of those different than me) in my everyday life but some of the facts and statistics were eye opening. The importance of cultural competency was stressed and I can now understand the importance of it in this career path. I also now have a better understanding of some the dynamics behind the cultures discussed in the course such as how tradition plays a role in the perception of health and some of the issues that plague some of our neglected cultural groups in America. Overall the course was helpful and insightful and I am now better equipped to tackle the challenges that may proceed me as a health care professional. References Bonder, B. & Martin, L. (2013). Culture in Clinical Care. 2nd ed. Thorofare, NJ: Slack.