Hi I need help with responses to a discussion post. I will post below the two different discussions and I just need two responses back to them. This is not in essay format they’re just responses back to posts that two different classmates posted. In your replies to peers, share your views and your knowledge about different cultural beliefs associated with health care. Each peer response needs to be 150 words minimum.
#1
Yes, I concur entirely with the author’s viewpoint that showing patients respect is not always sufficient. One must understand the patient’s culture and cultural peculiarities to infect them. Understanding some cultural practices is crucial for nurses and doctors since it lessens the likelihood of miscommunication. Additionally, it can increase trust between patients and doctors, enhancing patient outcomes. For instance: In Australia, various cultural beliefs are held by the Aboriginal population. Eye contact and slang are seen as rude and dishonorable by them. Thus the person caring for these patients needs to know their cultural values. It can uphold their cultural respectability and promote cultural safety.
Stereotyping is having an incorrect perception of something. Misunderstandings can result from cultural stereotypes. For instance, the journal mentions a woman who underwent surgery at the hospital. She keeps her doctor in the dark about all of her illnesses. Although her family members weren’t doctors, the woman chose to complain to them. Due to this, the doctor starts comparing the patient to women in her own culture. It is evident from this incident that the doctor believed all women had a common culture, which is incorrect.
There are several cultural traditions around the world. For instance, the autonomy of the patient and their right to know their illnesses are strictly enforced in American healthcare. Other cultures, including those of Mexico and China, have traditions that value informing a patient’s family first about their prognosis. Additionally, failing to keep eye contact implies poor behavior in the US. I’m familiar with the Hispanic culture; I’m used to making ofrednas for dia de los Muertos. As was already mentioned, culture has a significant impact on healthcare. For instance, in some cultures, it is thought that breaking unpleasant news to a patient can discourage them and make their condition worse. If followed, these various beliefs aid in the recovery of the patient.
#2
I do agree with the writers premise that treating patients with respect is not enough and its is necessary to learn about the specific customs of other cultures in order to provide quality health care. I am an Armenian who was born and raised in Germany, which gave me the opportunity to be raised amongst cultures, that are not my own, teaching me a thing or two I am very grateful for. I highly believe that respect is not the only thing you should show towards a patient, but also respect for their culture. An example I have is that when I was going to elementary school in Germany, we would all say a prayer before we had breakfast, there was never a day we did not say a prayer before we started eating. I came across a similar situation at Adventist Hospital, where I was volunteering at. I was sent to a patient to feed him, when he kindly asked me if I could wait for him to finish his prayer before I help him eat. Not only did I respect his wish, I respected his culture and norms, which meant more to him than anything, as he had advised me that the nurses usually just have him pray and try eating the food by himself as they can not wait for him to finish praying, but I was so astonished by his cultural norms that I had no problem waiting for him. I do strongly believe that is is dangerous to stereotype, as you can not compare a single person to an entire race or ethnicity. Just because this person went to prison because they were doing drugs, does not mean that this entire race is known for doing drugs and being drug addicts. The cultures and customs I am most familiar with are the armenian, persian and german, as my parents moved to Germany from Iran in the 90s and spent over 25 years in Germany before we moved here. Culture does play a significant role in the healthcare issue that I am personally researching about. Since I am talking about obesity, every culture looks at it extremely differently. There are cultures out there that praise people who gain a lot, but there are also cultures that forbid a woman to exceed a certain amount of weight.