The Culture of Dominicans Essay

Within the unique culture of the Dominican Republic, the complex heritage of Arawak, Spanish, African, and French lore, is unique to the Dominican Republic compared to other Caribbean islands. Moreover, the country maintains close ties with the United States. Currently, the people of the Dominican Republic are striving to build a democracy against the unscrupulous and authoritarian politically privileged leadership. A large element that shapes Dominican national identity is its Spanish heritage. Currently in this country, light skin color, which is marked to reflect European ancestry, is valued, while dark skin tones indicate West African slave ancestry. The Roman Catholic cathedrals still are in existence and the majority of the population

In America today, there is a large and diverse African-American population. Within this population, there are several ethnic groups. The other ethnic group similar to Afro-Americans is Dominicans. Not only are they both minorities, but they also look similar as well. Both Dominicans and Afro-Americans are originally from Africa, but their slave masters separated them into two different cultures. African-Americans was African slaves of Americans, and Dominicans were African slaves of the Spanish. Hevesi of the New York Times says, "Dominican and Afro-Americans culture was formed from one ethnicity, Africans" (Hevesi 86). As a person of these two ethnic groups, I have two perceptions of my dual ethnicity. Among Afro-Americans’ and

Nurses have the responsibility of caring for a diverse group of people. These people come from different cultures, races, and religious backgrounds. Religion plays a major role in patient care and has for many years. Cultural competency is a major component of nursing practices. Understanding culture is imperative in knowing what is important to a patient and how to address his or her healthcare needs. Understanding culture is also important when determining what suggestions to make about interventions for treatment. Culture is defined as many people interacting and sharing with one another their patterns of behavior, beliefs and values (Burkhardt, G. & Nathaniel, A., 2014).

“No te quede en el sol por mucho tiempo te va poner negro” Don't stay in the sun for too long you’ll get black.Those are words that I have heard while growing up. Growing up in a Dominican household the culture and beliefs are really strong. A culture that has been passed down through generations. A culture that has been accepted, however just because it's my culture doesn't mean that I have to accept it. In my family, lighter is better, more beautiful. It's not only my family, in Dominican culture being light skin tone is usually related to beauty and success. However, I don't agree with that, the color of your skin doesn't decide if you will be successful. It is who you are that decides that. It is hard to try to talk to the family about

The Dominican Republic or also known as La Republica Dominicana is a small island that is 18,816 square miles, located off the coast of Florida. The Dominicans of this land share their island with the Haitians. The island has a subtropical climate, mountains, rolling hills, and fertile river valleys. The economy is mainly dominated by sugar, which still earns much of the country's foreign exchange despite establishment of varied light industries and the development of nickel, mining and tourism. Coffee, cocoa, tobacco, and bananas are also a major export crop. But, despite their seemingly stable economy, and lush landscaping, a vast majority of the estimated 8,603,200 people that live there wish to migrate to the

According to Andrews and Boyle (2012) culture-specific refers to what a unique set of people value, beliefs, and pattern of behavior that is very special to the group. The values, beliefs, and pattern of behavior is not shared with someone outside of the culture. Culture is defined as the way of living for a set of people. Culture plays an important role in terms of how an individual expresses meaning to life experiences and understands moral definition of sickness, diseases, suffering and death. Culture also influences the way of life of the patients, family and physician and how decisions are made in terms of health related situations. In healthcare settings, socio-cultural context determines what is considered ethical or non-ethical. The cultures of both patients and health care workers often influences how decision are made in terms of health related issues. Using this framework, A Culturally Competent Model of Care by Josepha Campinha-Bacote, that emphasis five constructs (cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, cultural encounter and cultural desire); there is need for one to be aware of one’s self by answering the following questions: How biased am I towards other cultural groups? Do I possess what it takes to conduct a cultural assessment in a using

The term culture is defined as “the thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups” (Potter & Perry, 2013). With the increase of culturally diverse populations in the United States, it is important for nurses to practice cultural competence. Cultural competence is the ability to acquire specific behaviors, skills, attitudes, and policies in a system that permits “effective work in a cross-cultural setting” (OMH, 2013). Being culturally competent is essential because nurses who acknowledges and respects a patient’s health beliefs and practices are more likely to have positive health outcomes (OMH, 2012). Every culture has certain views and attitudes concerning

“Health is influenced by culture and beliefs” (NRS-429V, 2011, p. 1). In order for the nurse to properly care for the patient, she must know and understand the patient’s culture. “Cultural care is a comprehensive model that includes the assessment of a client’s cultural needs, beliefs, and health care practices” (NRS-429V, 2011, p. 1). It is not enough to just know where the patient lives or where he came from. The nurse must embrace the concept of cultural competence and cultural awareness. This requires not only the awareness of the cultural beliefs and values of their patients, but also

Let me start of by saying, there is no reason why anyone wouldn’t want to become a Dominican. Dominicans have strong beliefs in resurrection. Their religion customs were brought to their island by Spanish colonist. The Dominican Island is a very beautiful Island full of friendly people. The Dominican flag colors are red, blue and white, in the middle of their flag they have a bible. The culture is unique and follows an old tradition, They have a history of native Tainos and Africans which were the ones who repopulate. Dominicans influence their tourist places with Taino souvenirs. Their people love tourist, mostly Americans. Every Dominican dream for some reason is to come to the U.S. Other than the U.S. having benefits for everyone and being a multicultural country their Island is

Culture is a very important aspect for health care professionals to examine when interacting with their clients. By having an understanding of different cultural practices, a clinician can more effectively treat a patient. Kagawa-Singer, M. & Kassim-Lakha, S. (2003) theorizes that patients resist lifestyle changes, and culture forms lifestyle. Therefore, if physicians attend to the influence of culture on health behavior, outcomes of medical care might well be improved.

The Dominican Center at Marywood in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has a variety of art peppered through the halls, dated as far back as the mid 1800s. The center’s art is mostly created by the Dominican sisters. The Center also maintains a Sculpture Garden and a Prairie Habitat, both nature-walks through the woods and around the pond. Much of the art did not tell of the history, in fact, some pieces the artist was unknown, even so, the Dominican art is worth exploring.

Culture is defined as the group of similar values, goals, outlooks, ideas and traditions that a shared by a certain group of people. The human race is diverse and varied, filled with many cultures. There are many differences in these cultures and because of these differences; the definition of normal differs from culture to culture. It only makes sense that diagnoses of psychopathologic disorders vary from culture to culture. However certain things will not change because fundamentally, we all still belong to the same species.

The student that I selected to do the cultural project is from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is a third world country located in the Grater Antilles or The Caribbean. The culture of the country is a mix of the Europeans, Africans and Tainos. The national language of the country is Spanish, but the native dialect is referred to as Dominican Spanish. However, many schools in the country teach English and French as a second language. The majority of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, which makes Catholicism the main religion. Since the Dominican Republic is a religious country, the citizens tend to be very conservative and traditional. The Dominicans are also known for being charismatic, humble and welcoming. It is part of their culture to make people feel comfortable and pleased at all times. The Dominican Republic food is

A culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people- their behaviors, beliefs, values that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. It also includes the customs, arts, literature, morals/values and traditions of a particular society or group (Virginia Encyclopedia). Culture can also be considered as a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in places or organizations. This topic is of huge importance to our society mainly in the state of

Thesis: Culture is the beliefs, customs, arts, ect. of a particular society, group, place or time. (Webster Online Dictionary) Cuba is rich and full of cultural backgrounds that influence its decision making for present and future regional affairs. Political parties as well as celebrity affairs heavily influence today’s society.