Giger Model Of Transcultural Nursing

We live in a diverse society. In Singapore we have 5 major ethnic groups and many minor groups living in our little red dot. This diverse cultural society naturally exposes nurses to many cultures foreign to our own. Culture, defined as a particular set of beliefs, norms, and values concerning the nature of relationships, the way people live their lives, and the way people organize their environments (SAMHSA, 2014), can appear strange, weird, and even crazy to those not familiar with it. With little time to familiarize, nurses have to adapt to the various cultural groups that pass through the doors of medical establishments daily.

Transcultural nursing has been defined as a legitimate and formal area of study, research, and practice, focused

Communication is an essential part of human society. It is our primary means of preserving and transmitting culture. (Giger, 2002). It is how we learn our cultural norms in verbal and non-verbal communication (Karabudak, 2013). Communication barriers don’t just involve language differences. Two people who speak the same language may not be able to communicate effectively because their cultural background is different.

Ms Margarita speaks very loudly to the nurse with whom she is trying to communicate. In Singaporean culture, one speaks loudly to express dissatisfaction or anger at something or someone. To the nurse, Ms Margarita appears to be upset about something that the nurse did, but would be very confused as to why. However, Ms Margarita is a Russian. Russians tend to be very blunt and honest people, and speaking loudly to others is the volume of normal

It could partially explain her continuous repletion of her statements as Russians tend to behave very formally towards strangers and may appear distant. However, Russians also behave formally as a sign of respect. In this respect, Ms Margarita feels uncertain, but she may be respectful as well.

Environmental Control. This is defined as the ability of a person to direct and control environmental factors that affect them (Giger, 2002). This determines how likely one is to seek medical care. Russia practices a welfare approach to healthcare, similar to the UK, where everyone is entitled to free healthcare. This generates a high perceived level of environmental control, causing everyone to seek healthcare, no matter the quality. Although free medical care is available in Russia, those who can afford to, seek private medical care as the public services are perceived to be of poor quality.

Given that Ms Margarita is able to travel overseas alone, and seek medical care in a foreign hospital, it shows that Ms Margarita is relatively well-off. She also has high sense of environmental control, as she willing seeked medical treatment at a foreign hospital when she was injured while