Cultural Competence and Health Inequities

Cultural Competence

Nurses should be culturally competent and understand cultural differences because person-centered care requires empathy and individualization (Ahn & Yi, 2022). Empathy is what enables a nurse to understand, to realize what it is like to be in that person’s shoes, and to consider best how that person would like to be treated. This can be difficult to do when one knows nothing about the person’s culture. Culture is what tells about a person’s values, beliefs, expectations, and needs. Understanding culture is the first step in understanding a person, and understanding a person is the first step in being able to give person-centered care.

Cultural competence also helps the nurse to be better able to communicate with the patient. Some cultures have their own norms for how to communicate and they can differ from one to another. If a nurse is not mindful of this he runs the risk of saying something in a manner that might be insulting or offensive. To achieve patient satisfaction, the nurse should consider how communication is usually expected in that particular culture. Culture and communication are like two peas in a pod. If communication is done well, trust and respect can be fostered between the nurse and the patient, which can help down the road when it comes time to implementing a care plan and making sure the patient is going to adhere to it (Greene & Ramos, 2021).