A Reflection of Culture and Cultural Concepts

(Student’s Name)

(Name of the Institution)

A Reflection of Culture and Cultural Concepts

The present day globalized world is increasingly becoming multicultural as a result of the appreciation of the concept of global citizenship. Therefore, cultural sensitivity and diversity are continuously becoming important aspects among nursing professionals. I had always held an essentialist perspective of culture before my exposure to culture and cultural issues in the classroom and little did I know that culture is a multifaceted element which evolves continually depending on an individual’s beliefs, environment, and interaction with other people. My essentialist and ethnocentric perspective of culture is due to my longtime opinion that people’s beliefs, perceptions, attitudes, and thoughts cannot change drastically. From my classroom experience and encounters in a hospital setting during one of my practicums, I now understand the multifaceted nature and significance of culture for nursing students and in a healthcare setting.

As suggested by Holland and Hogg (2010), culture is a mutual pattern of values, beliefs, experience, knowledge, perception, attitudes, time notions and religious opinions that define societies’ lifestyles. Such a description refutes my earlier understanding of the term culture as something that is constant and objective to a given society. From my classroom experience, Holland and Hogg’s (2010) definition consists of both the Functionalist and Interpretative principles underpinning culture as it suggests that every person is a product of his or her society because every culture has its basis on norms and symbols that determine society’s behavior. Culture is thus a four-dimensional feature comprising of elements such as practices, products, communities and persons from a particular community. The curriculum traverses all the continuum cultural perspectives of nursing from the essentialist view to constructivist and critical outlooks hence equipping me with the comprehension that culture is an ever-evolving, complex and dynamic aspect covering the concepts of diversity and multiculturalism on ethnic, religious and linguistic perspectives.

As a nursing student and a future nursing professional, I have realized the importance of culture, diversity and cultural sensitivity in a healthcare setting. I have had a couple of visits to local healthcare centers, and one of my observations is that the nurses and other healthcare workers are from culturally diverse backgrounds. The concept of culture-based care arises from the need to acknowledge that patients originate from different backgrounds and it is essential to have culturally diverse and sensitive workforce for sociocultural safety. Patients’ cultural diversity entails, and not limited to, spiritual and religious beliefs, migrant experience, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, attitudes, and perceptions. According to Omeri and McFarland (2008), it is necessary for nurses to reflect on their cultural backgrounds and identities for the recognition of their cultures and influences on their professional practice. It is for that reason that I think nursing education should impart students with cultural competence by understanding their personal attributes and attitudes, and acquiring related skills and knowledge. The reason is for efficient delivery of healthcare services in the contemporary healthcare sector where patients have multicultural characteristics and needs (Darawsheh & Chard, 2015). Cultural competence as one of the cultural concepts in healthcare which entail appreciating patients’ diversities, being sensitive and understanding their therapeutic beliefs, traditions, and norms (Darawsheh & Chard, 2015).

It is important to have a wider perspective of the culture and its concepts. Drawing reference from my earlier understanding of the term culture, such scaling according to West, Park, Harvey, and Lapsley (2010), can trigger a failure to recognize some essential healing practices, health beliefs, and practices across the culturally diverse population. Devaluing such culturally sensitive aspects of healthcare increases the possibility of patients feeling abandoned, misunderstood, and vulnerable. I can attest from the classroom exploration of the topic of culture and my experience in a hospital setting that a lack of understanding of the concepts of culture among nursing professionals can perpetuate ethos of unsafe and unprofessional cultural practices. They comprise of actions which can disempower and demean patients’ cultural wellbeing and identities.

In summary, the reflection of lessons from the topic of cultural concepts and mirroring them in my past experiences reveals that having a wider perspective and deeper understanding of the concepts is essential for cultural safety. It is for that reason that nurses are inspired through workshops and exposures to culturally dynamic settings to increase their cultural sensitivity, competence, and awareness. Holland and Hogg (2010) describe the concepts to be essential elements in recognizing and carefully balancing powers existing in nurse-client relationship healthcare models. Nurses should endeavor to increase their competence and understanding of their cultural attitudes, realities, and beliefs in addition to raising awareness of how they can impact on the views, traditions, and beliefs of others.

References Darawsheh, W., & Chard, G. (2015). The Challenge of Cultural Competency in the Multicultural 21st Century: A Conceptual Model to Guide Occupational Therapy Practice. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 3(2):1-24. Retrieved from