Relationships and Expectations

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Running head: RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS
Relationships and Expectations
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
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RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS
Throughout the years, nursing has been a dynamic and continuously evolving profession,
primarily because it has to change and adapt in response to a variety of cultural stimuli. In the
case study, Christy has difficulty in changing her approach in dealing with patients to ensure she
gives the best nursing care and avoids the tendency to become frustrated when working in an
unconventional environment ("Core Concepts," 2017). In light of this challenge, it imperative to
evaluate some elements of the case study and determine how Christy can become culturally
competent as well as outline the measures that the organization can take to improve its cultural
competence.
How Christy can handle the situation better the next time she encounters a Romani
patient
The next time Christy meets a patient of Romani origin, she needs to develop an
appropriate strategy to establish rapport with the patients. To this end, she needs to keep in mind
the fact that she will discharge her duties in the presence of family members. Such awareness
will help her develop a temperament that can allow her discharge her duties in the presence of a
crowd without getting frustrated (Matteliano & Street, 2012). Also, Christy should know that the
code of ethics governing nurses requires that nurses practice their profession with respect and
compassion irrespective of the cultural differences between the nurse and the patients
(Matteliano & Street, 2012).
In appreciation of the fact that relatives of a patient will always be in a room and
probably bombard her with questions, she needs to know how to relate with such family
members. The first thing is to learn how to give appropriate answers that would prevent a
confrontation. For examples, when a relative asks where the doctor is, the best response would
be to tell them that the doctor will be coming after a short while and her responsibility is to
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RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS
prepare the patient in readiness for the doctor. Such a response would make the relatives be at
ease and appreciate the work that she is doing. Additionally, when she realizes that the relatives
do not approve of she is giving the patient a sponge bath, the best thing is to politely enquire on
the best way to do it. Thus, the relatives will note that she is concerned and accord her the best
environment to provide nursing care for the patient.
As an essential requirement, Christy should learn the art of bathing whereby she would
be required to carry two towels as well as soaps to be used separately for the upper and lowers
parts of the body during the sponge bath (Matteliano & Street, 2012). From the reaction of the
relatives of Romani origin, it is apparent that they are sensitive to cleanliness and how the
patient’s food is handled. For example, it is possible that they disapproved of Christy battering
the patient’s bread because she is the same nurse who had bathed the patient ("Core Concepts,"
2017). Hence, next time she encounters such as a patient, it would be critical to have two
different nurses to handle the issues of bathing and food separately.
Reflection
There are four learning activities in the case study. The denominating factor emerging
from the learning activities is that cultural competence is essential in nursing practice because it
determines the ability of a nurse to relate well with patients from different cultural backgrounds.
In regards to the first learning activity concerning the inside story, it is apparent that Christy was
not prepared to deal with difficult patients. Dealing with her first patient, Julie, was smooth
because Julie’s mother was a nurse and understood the experience of being a nurse ("Core
Concepts," 2017). In contrast, the second patient was unconventional because the relatives of the
patients had some laxity in taking the child to a hospital and they bombarded her with questions
all the time ("Core Concepts," 2017). From the two experiences, one can learn the importance of
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RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS
getting acquainted with different cultural settings and evaluating a patient’s background before
providing nursing care. Also, as a nurse, it is apparent that one needs to establish a personal
rapport with the patients as well as the relatives.
Concerning the second learning activity of predicting potential impacts, the most striking
things is the emphasis on collaboration between nurses and the nurse administrators. Also, one
appreciates the importance of conducting background research on patients. For example, it is
apparent that if Christy has used the internet to research on Romani culture, she would have been
better positioned to provide the most appropriate nursing care. Another critical lesson is that as a
nurse, one should have the courage to engage the relatives of a patient and try to understand their
cultural background and how those backgrounds influence the formation of expectations from
nursing care ("Core Concepts," 2017). Activities three and four have some critical lessons.
Firstly, a nurse needs to ask the right questions if he/she is to develop the intervention for the
patient (Matteliano & Street, 2012). The questions should be directed to the patient as well as the
relatives. A combination of the lessons learned from the learning activities will contribute to
personal development cultural competence.
Ways through which an organization can improve cultural competence
Training is the best strategy that an organization can use to develop cultural competence.
Nurse administrators need to have a curriculum that incorporates various cultural aspects and
have some ground rules on how a nurse should engage with patients (Matteliano & Street, 2012).
Towards the development of the curriculum, an organization should collect views from elders
from different cultures because they are better positioned to contribute to the body of knowledge.
It is, however, important that an organization allows flexibility among nurses on how they should
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RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS
relate to patients. Such flexibility should be within the confines of an organization’s framework
on cultural competence.
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RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS
References
Core Concepts. (2017). Support.mchtraining.net. Retrieved 11 August 2017, from
http://support.mchtraining.net/national_ccce/case0/case.html
Matteliano, M., & Street, D. (2012). Nurse practitioners’ contributions to cultural competence in
primary care settings. Journal Of The American Academy Of Nurse Practitioners, 24(7),
425-435. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7599.2012.00701.x

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