Cultural Diversity In Health Care

Through my life experiences I feel I have gained a heightened awareness when it comes to critical perspectives in health and culture as it relates to understanding the sources of oppression and inequities within structures, policies, and practices (Getzlaf and Osborne, 2010). By default I was born African-American, which has given me a unique perspective into the inequities and social injustices that people in the minority or subset population face. If I am to be honest, being a minority in this country and experiencing first hand the issues of poverty and lack of medical insurance has made me sensitive to the issues that my patient’s experience. By navigating through my own barriers, I am better able to advocate for my patients because

To piggy-back on this idea, Getzlaf and Osborne (2010) introduce the term praxis, which is defined as “the ability to link knowledge and theory development to practice-relevant social and political actions aimed at improving health, healthcare, and social conditions” (p. 8). For the subset population of my project I chose to focus on elderly readmission rates related to adverse drug effects (ADE). The elderly have various social disparities that are greatly impacted by their age; ethnicity, poverty, and lack of/minimal education. As more evidence-based research identifies the inequities this population faces in getting access to and maintaining effective health care, it is important for us, as nurses, to give them a voice through advocating for them. When I am with my patients I make it point to learn about them (i.e. background, living environment, any financial restraints they might have in regards access to getting the medications they need at discharge) and I make sure this information is conveyed to the IDT day one or two of admission so that any potential issues are addressed and solutions can be formulated so there are no surprises on discharge. Points like this are why, within my project, I advocate for IDTs and making sure pharmacy plays an active role in the patients discharge and follow up. Because of the intricate role nurses play at the bedside and in patient care, I can foresee that in order for my care model to become practice, nurses will need to take a lead role in developing a report with pharmacy to ensure the follow-up monitoring and information fully addresses the disparities of the elderly and consequently impact the elderly health outcomes for the