Nur401 Transcultural Nursing Research Paper

Transcultural Nursing Cumulative Journal
M. Blair
NUR401: Transcultural Nursing
August 24, 2012

Transcultural Nursing Cumulative Journal
The student initially entered the Transcultural Nursing class with limited knowledge and experience in caring for patients of differing cultures. Even though the student’s practice with assisting various cultures still remains narrow, her knowledge base and tools to assist with obtaining information and assessments has significantly improved. This course has opened the student’s eyes as well as her mind in accepting individuals beliefs and practices. The student also has grasped the concept that just because one accepts or allows another individual to engage in
In the beginning of the course, the student did not do well on this quiz, which she found to be very upsetting. She has always considered herself to be open-minded, compassionate, and supportive of others, especially of those who may be vulnerable. This course has taught the student that transcultural nursing is so much more than smiling and being pleasant. To be acceptable to all cultures you can hold no stereo-types. The nurse needs to understand how cross cultural misunderstandings can and will impact clinical outcomes. If one desires optimal outcomes for their patients, then they must become knowledgeable of the culture and make considerations regarding treatments appropriately. For example, it is part of the Filipino American culture to perceive an individual’s health issue as a family issue. When caring for a Filipino patient, the nurse needs to base his or her nursing interventions on family structure and organization (Giger & Davidhizar, 2008). Each culture contains various preferences and beliefs and it is the responsibility of the healthcare provider to research the culture and be aware of such differing
The success of consciously and correctly answering the questions demonstrates the student’s achievements in providing optimal transcultural nursing care to her patients. The student feels the personal cultural interview assignment was essential in demonstrating the significance of communicating with patients of various cultures. The Giger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Assessment Model was used when performing the comprehensive interview and served as an astonishing tool in gathering precise cultural information (Ginger & Davidhizar, 2008). The long term goal of the student is to participate in one of her parish sponsored annual mission trips. This inspiration from this goal comes from the required readings in this course regarding nursing mission