¶ … Cultural Diversity in Rural Settings for Nurses
On a continuum of cultural awareness to cultural relativity, how do you view yourself and your interactions with others?
As a nurse practitioner, it is easy to see the patient simply as a patient, as a sick person needing treatment, rather than a well person who perceives his or her body as only temporarily ill, but sees his or her person as permanently a part of a family and culture outside of the hospital. As Small and Dennis (2003) counsel, the increase in immigration has resulted in greater diversity of both patients and practitioners within the United States, rather than in traditional urban locations. Thus Small and Dennis remind the nurse that it is not...
A nurse must be able to communicate to the patient, and also act as a cultural bridge and advocate to a hospital environment that may not understand the patient's cultural mindset. This is why a culture-specific assessment is so critical when explaining models of health and illness to the patient, and setting an appropriate course of treatment with the doctor.
What rational support these beliefs and behaviors?
As even nurses in rural areas are more affected by diversity, it is important to keep in mind one interesting idea proposed by Small and Dennis, that nursing itself is a culture…
