Providing Cultural Competent Care

Our Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at a tertiary health care center is a leader in clinical care and bio-medical research. Patient centered care is the fundamental framework of our organization. Many patients from diverse cultural backgrounds from across our nation and the world travel here, seeking our care. With this growth in diversity, it is critical that as health care providers we understand their particular needs. It is also in our best interest to provide care that is culturally competent. The “Advancing effective communication, cultural competence, and patient and family centered care: A Roadmap for Hospitals” article, published in August 2010, provides recommendations to help hospitals address unique patient needs and comply with existing joint commission requirements. Firstly, our organization purchased a Culture Vision database to help health care providers learn about specific cultures. Then, our ABMT unit took steps to embrace culturally competent care by integrating a cultural knowledge. The nursing staff completed an assessment of their own healthcare beliefs and practices, and existing cultural knowledge. Then, we enlisted the help of nursing staff from different cultural backgrounds to share their experience in the context of their culture’s perception of illness, pain, healing, attitudes toward authority figures, use of nonverbal and verbal communication and its interpretations, spiritual and death practices, and the role of family within the specific group. Unit based nursing grand rounds during staff meetings included presentations from staff members of Latino, African, Caribbean, Native American, and Arabic background. Our focus of presenting unbiased information about the potential cultural behavior of patient’s, resulted in tearing down barriers and providing optimal patient care. More importantly, this project helped members of the nursing staff become more aware of our own traditions and motivated us to recognize, respect, and take into account beliefs and practices of our patients. It is no surprise, that health care providers who understand their patients’ cultural values, beliefs and practices are more likely to have positive interactions with their patients and provide them with culturally acceptable care. When we embrace other cultures, we learn to understand, accept and respect differences while fostering trusting relationships with our patients and their family members.