Rico Carlos's Meeting Patients Where They Are

Cultural consideration must be taken into account when discussing end-of-life issues with patients and family members. One cannot assume that cultural affiliation equals a deep connection to cultural beliefs and affiliation with one or more groups should not be used as an assumption about

Language is one social and cultural barriers that may have made it difficult for the doctors to communicate with Jessica’s family. It creates the trust that exists between a patient and a doctor and their guardians. When using a translator, meanings may change and the desired communication result may not be achieved. The trust that should exist between the doctor and the patient and the guardians

(1997). The spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Karliner, L. S., Jacobs, E. A., Chen, A. H., & Mutha, S. (2007). Do professional interpreters improve clinical care for patients with limited english proficiency?

My perception of palliative and Hospice care has changed slightly when it comes to communication with the family. I walked into the hospice unit mentally preparing myself to talk with patient families about their loved one and the dying process; this was certainly not the case. The family and the patient did not want to be bothered unless comfort interventions needed to be carried out and there was no conversation to be had about the patient and his situation. This shows that each family is different, each patient is different; and we need to respect and accommodate their unique

Discussion of end-of-life care rarely occurs in the Haitian household until the patient reaches the hospital and it is too late. This leads to family members unaware of patient preferences and unnecessary treatments. The participants’ knowledge

Latinos, collectively the nation's largest minority group, vary substantially in terms of socioeconomic and legal status, their country of origin and the extent of ongoing contact with that country, their region of residence within the United States, their generation status and levels of acculturation, and psychosocial factors (Elder, Ayala, Parra-Medina, & Talavera, 2009). Due to these various issues navigating the health care system can prove difficult especially when it comes to the end of life care, it is prevalent in the Mexican culture for the elderly to be taken care of by their younger family members such as their children. However, if they have a major illness or the family simply don’t have the ability to take care of them anymore

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States, and the majority of them are Mexican in origin (Kemp, 2001). The Roman Catholic Church plays a vital role in the culture and daily life of many Mexican Americans. Consequently, healthcare personnel must become culturally competent in dealing with the different beliefs possessed by these individuals. Nurses must have the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver care that is congruent with the patient’s cultural beliefs and practices (Kearney-Nunnery, 2010). The ways that a nurse cares for a Mexican American patient during the process of dying or at the critical time of death is especially important. The purpose of this paper is to examine

The profession of nursing is more than caring for the physiological health of an individual. It also includes caring for their spiritual, mental, and overall wellbeing. Nurses, and all health care workers, need to take into consideration a patient’s cultural preference in order to maintain their spiritual well-being. This paper will address Native American cultural considerations relating to end of life using the Giger and Davidhizar assessment model as explained in chapter 4 of Sagar (2012) Transcultural Nursing Theory and Models: Application in Nursing Education Practice, and Administration. It will overview the assessment model, then apply it to death in the Native American culture as well as present nursing implications.

Culturally competent care is more important now than it has been ever before. BY 2020, 35% of the American population will consist of ethnic minorities as compared to today's 28% (Goldsmith, n.d.). This means that in order to best cater to these different patients, doctors and nurses have to speak the language of the different ethnicities, understanding their perspectives of medicine and treatment and catering to these in rode rot provide them with the best intervention.

For this week’s personal journal, I have decided to discuss Sonia Duffy’s article, Cultural Concepts at the End of Life. I thought that this article was very interesting, in addition to being imperative. I had not considered cultural considerations in relation to end of life, which I’m sure many others have not done. Of course, we understand that different cultures have different viewpoints on medical practices and interventions. However, I have not truly considered these influences – in terms of end of life care. I was intrigued to read what my own culture reflected when asked about end of life care.

Health care providers interact with patients from many different cultures. It is important to be knowledgeable and respectable of other cultures. Health care providers will be able to improve the experience of the patient if they are more culturally. More than 500 nations of Native Americans exist in the United States with a population of over four million people. Each has their own language, culture, healers, and tribal customs and religions informed (B. Stuart, Cherry, & J. Stuart, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of cultural influences on end of life care in the Native American culture.

Since the son is underage and there could be some medical issues that the mother might not want to discuss around her son, the staff should have taken the initial step to ensure there was an interpreter at the facility before seeking his assistance. In some instances, patients are wary of allowing outsiders knowledge of their medical health. If the patient does turn down the offer for an interpreter, it would then be acceptable to seek approval of using the patient’s son as an interpreter. However, the staff must be aware that communication might be limited due to the child’s limited knowledge in medical terminology.

The End-of-Life Care: The Latino Culture article also discusses just how important respect is within the Hispanic community. It is traditional among

Knowing that there may be a point the patient can no longer make the decisions about their care allows for the patient, family members and healthcare providers to begin the conversations early about plans and choices for the future. Whitlatch (2013) discusses how critical it is to discuss values and preference for care with both the patient and the caregiver throughout the disease progression, to ensure a person-centered plan of care addresses everyone involved. As a hospice nurse, it can be difficult to have discussions about after life care with a patient who is still living, but to ensure that the nurse provides holistic care for the patient this conversation must take place. Many times, when talking about death and after life, religion and faith can have direct impacts on the plan of care. A specific example for family involvement in the plan of care and where faith had a role in care was with hospice patients that were Catholic.

Most of the patients were Hispanic and spoke only Spanish and some limited English. Since then, I spent two years in Fiji Islands working on a community health empowerment project for the Peace Corps. It was at this time I encountered cultural health practices so vastly different than my own, it took me two years just to begin to understand. Although most of the local beliefs were rooted in folklore rather than science, I had to learn to reach patients in a way that would continue to respect their beliefs while still providing health education they would understand. I believe this experienced has forever changed the way I view and understand the importance of providing culturally sensitive and competent care. I believe all people, from all walks of life, deserve access to adequate