Discussion 1 (Lindsay)

Module 1 Discussion

Cultural competence is having the capability to effectively interact with individuals belonging to different cultures. Being culturally competent is essential in the nursing profession.  Specifically, because advanced practice nurses (APN) care for many different cultural groups in the community. Cultural competence plays a significant role in eliminating and decreasing health care disparities. Therefore, APNs must have the ability to communicate appropriately with different cultural backgrounds to effectively treat patient’s health concerns in a manner that is acceptable to the patient.

 The Purnell model defines culture as behavioral patterns, beliefs, values, lifestyles, and all other factors that influence the human work and thought characteristics of a group of people that guide their worldview and decision making (Purnell, 2005). The Purnell model was a framework designed to use across all disciples and practice settings to assess different cultures. Every healthcare discipline values communication and must know their patients ethnocultural beliefs. Healthcare providers are more effective in caring for patients when they understand ethnocultural diversity. The model is a circle with three rims, the outlying rim represents global society, a second rim representing community, a third rim representing family, and the inner rim representing the person (Purnell, 2005). The interior of the circle is split into 12 parts representing cultural domains and their concepts. The 12 cultural domains construct the framework of the model. The Purnell model was developed for multiple purposes. These include providing a framework to learn concepts and characteristics of culture; define instances that affect an individual’s worldview; provide a tool that links the most significant relationships of culture; interrelate characteristics of culture that promote congruence to deliver sensitive and competent care; provide a structure for analyzing cultural data; and view individuals, families, and communities within their unique ethnocultural environment (Purnell, 2005). Communicating in a culturally sensitive way can minimize prejudices and biases.

Culturally competent communication means communicating with mindfulness and knowledge of health disparities and understanding that sociocultural influences have important effects on beliefs, behaviors, and the skills used to manage these factors appropriately (Taylor & Lurie, 2004). It is also important to recognize and understand different communication needs and styles. For example, identifying patient language preferences, literacy levels, and level of English proficiency. Promoting culturally competent communication in the health care setting reflects high quality care and a holistic approach. Good patient-provider communication is associated with increased adherence to treatment plans, highe