Relationships And Expectations

Running head: RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS

Relationships and Expectations

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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

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

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

RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPECTATIONS

relate to patients. Such flexibility should be within the confines of an organization’s framework

on cultural competence.

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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