With increased immigration into the United States (U.S.), healthcare professionals have been challenged to provide culturally competent and sensitive care. To be able to do that effectively, cultural assessment needs to be completed. In this post, I will define cultural assessment, as well as describe three key components of a comprehensive cultural assessment. Throughout the post, I will identify five communication skills that facilitate culturally competent health care. According to Andrews and Boyle (2016), cultural assessment is the method that nurses use to assess the needs of each patient. The intention of an effective cultural assessment is to obtain the facts that will help health care providers better understand and focus on particular health needs of the patient (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). Completed cultural assessment is the base for developing patient’s plan of care, helps develop mutual goals, and recognizes the special needs of the patient (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). Cultural assessment is completed upon admission to the health care facility. Major components of a cultural assessment are cultural affiliations, values orientation, communication, health-related beliefs and practices, nutrition, socioeconomic considerations, kinship and social networks, education, religion, …show more content…
Five communication skills that facilitate culturally competent health care are – tone of voice, facial expressions and body language, empathy, listening, and use of clarifications (Andrew & Boyle, 2016). Use of these skills will help improve overall communication as well as patient care, and it will increase patient satisfaction. Being able to overcome barriers, such as cultural diversity and ethnicity, will improve the relationship between health care providers and patients, enhance the trust, and ultimately improve plan of care and overall health of the patient (Andrew & Boyle,