Galanti's Caring For Patients Of Different Cultures

Introduction

It is predicted that by 2043, Caucasians will be a minority in the United States. As of 2010, 38 percent of the US population is a minority (Catalano, 2015). As future Nurses, we are guaranteed to have a patient that is a minority, and it is our responsibility to provide that patient with the same quality of care we would anyone else. In order to provide the high quality of care that is expected of nurses, to minority groups that we may have little experience with, we must be culturally competent. In Galanti’s book, Caring for Patients of Different Cultures, she describes a framework to help enable healthcare workers to provide culturally competent care. She explores, communication, time orientation, pain, religion and spiritualality,

For instance some cultures base their life around clock time. Other cultures base their time around Activity time. Another way that the concept of time can differ between cultures is the culture’s orientation in the past, present and future. Depending on the culture, there might me a greater significance of the past, present or future (Galanti 2004).

Pain

Each culture has a different way of expressing pain. Some cultures may suppress their expression of pain and act “stoic” (Galanti 2004), while other cultures may encourage expression of pain and discomfort. Cultures also may have different views on pain medication, while one culture may support its use, another culture may highly discourage it.

Religion and Spirituality Religion and spirituality are especially important to ill patients, when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable point. Spirituality differs between cultures in they way that one might pray, who they pray too, the belief in existence of evil spirits, what happens to the soul after death and blood beliefs. These different beliefs might need to be observed, even when in the hospital. (Galanti

Some cultures believe that the being overweight is a sign of health, while other cultures favor the tiny and thin individuals (Galanti 2004).

Family,

In different cultures, the characteristics of the family unit may be very different. For instance here in the United States, the individual is the primary unit and independence is highly valued. In other cultures, the family is the primary unit and interdependence is highly valued (Galanti 2004). The difference between the concept of family in multiple culture can lead to both confusion and misunderstanding. The decision making process for each culture might be different, depending on the authority figure. The role of the family can also differ between cultures (Galanti 2004).

Men and Women Not every culture has progressed toward equality, between the sexes. Sex roles vary depending on culture, some cultures strictly see women as caretakers, while other cultures see women as able to also pursue a career. Men in some cultures are seen at the decision maker and authority figure of the family, preventing women from being able to make their own decisions, even about their health. Women have also had the stress of sexual purity, virginity and modesty in several cultures. These beliefs require women to demonstrate special attention