Question

Identify areas of potential conflict of values and customs for a nurse interacting with a family from a different cultural or ethnic group

Answer 1

It is to be kept in mind that different cultures have different practices in health care as well, while working with a client with different culture may be a difficult task for the nurse and the health care practitioners.

The nurse may perform some of the activities with the patient that is not at all acceptable for him but it's normal in your culture and that can be a big issue in performing a task with the patient have different cultures, he may take it personally and can be problematic for the nurse.

Conflicts arise due to communication with the patient having different custom and culture, and conflict is called ethnocultural conflict that is the main point of concern in health care while dealing with people of different culture.

main areas where conflicts arise are:

1. COMMUNICATION

  it becomes very difficult for the nurse to communicate with the client of different cultures and customs, proper communication between two people is the key to establish a therapeutic relationship in health care settings, if it is not maintained properly it can be an ethical issue, so it is important for the nurse to make the patient aware of the difference in culture and the practices by various methods.

2. LANGUAGE BARRIER.

Language is the main medium of proper and effective communication if there is a language barrier between the nurse and the client there is a possibility that the patient and nurse both may feel anxious and irritated with continuous ineffective communication. it is important to make the patient understand some sign languages for effective communication.

3. CRITICAL CARE AREAS

During critical care, the patient finds more difficulty in communicating with the nurse with a different culture as during that period of time the patient has various questions to ask and to ventilate his feelings in his own way, to know about the treatment duration and also to know the duration of stay, etc.

4. FOOD HABITS

Different culture has different food practices which can be difficult for the patient to accept the style and the type of food offered in a different cultural setting,

for eg, hot food may harm the child with some illness but it may be acceptable in different settings, not allowing people to eat the food of their choices may be the insult to their choices.

5. GESTURES WHILE WORKING WITH THE PATIENT.

certain gestures which are acceptable in one's culture and not acceptable in another culture for eg,

in one culture not maintaining proper eye contact with the older may show that you are giving respect but it is possible that in another culture it may be disrespect for the patient ( avoiding eye contact), and conflict can be arises between both patient and the nurse for the same.

but by collecting data, making them aware and participating them in the therapeutic process, knowing their ethical values may resolve the conflict between the patient with a different culture and the nurse from a different culture.