The way a person thinks about health, “whether that is our ‘philosophy’, our ‘worldview’, our ‘framework’ influences what we do as individuals in practice,” as well as how we deliver the health service. These elements allow us to think about healthcare in our own culturally acceptable way, this isn’t always an acceptable way of delivering the service to people with views different to our own. Cultural competence is an approach that aids in influencing the service and the education of healthcare professionals. (Taylor, K., & Guerin, P., 2010).
Cultural competence is defined as a knowledge and understanding of cultures, histories and contemporary realities and awareness of protocols, combined with the proficiency to engage and work effectively in a cultural context congruent to the expectations of the people of that culture. (Universities Australia, 2011). The term cultural competence in health care refers to both the actions of the practitioner and their duty of care for the patient. This means that the care provided must be considered safe by the person receiving the care not the person providing it. (Victorian Government
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These values were first inspired by my parents, my upbringing, my school life and my community life. I realised at an early age that being respectful to everyone and their emotions, beliefs and personal values were a simple way to avoid offending people. These values have developed as I have developed and are an essential part of my character and would be a fundamental element of my practice in becoming a culturally safe healthcare practitioner. This is evident in the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, where it states that the second code is that “Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others.” (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council,