Palliative Care Essay Example

In a multicultural society such as Australia, nurses need to gain an understanding of cultural aspects surrounding palliative care, so that the most culturally appropriate behaviour can be applied. This essay will discuss the beliefs of two communities in Australia, the Indigenous and Muslim community who reside within the Greater Western Sydney regarding death and dying and will discuss how a nurse tendering to individuals from these communities can help.An example of previous experience will also be mentioned, as well as secondary resources. Culture encompass of a variation of systems, worldviews and beliefs that create symbols relating to humanity, spirituality and moral values(Galfin, Watkings & Harlow,2012). This forms a unique cultural, spiritual belief and tradition which varies among nationalities(To & Boughey, 2010).Across most cultures, birth, marriage and death are given the maximum importance as these are some of the major milestones of continuity of life (Higginson & Booth, 2011).However, a nurse must be aware that there are certain subtle differences in the way in which the last days of individuals are managed across the cultures in order to provide optimum palliative care needs (Saxena & Mulhern, 2010). The following previous clinical experience will assist to communicate the main key concepts of culturally competent and how it replicates the best practice by nurses surrounding palliative care. A woman, seventy years of age from an Indigenous background was admitted to intensive care unit ward during clinical for palliative care, diagnosed with low level of consciousness and shortness of breath. She had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type two diabetes mellitus, and the nurse looking after this patient called the medical emergency team (MET). Patients like this women have a health progressively deteriorating, require palliation to be culturally competent as this enable nurses to be aware of her health