Culturally Sensitive Nursing Care
What are the cultural traits with charity and her baby that are specific to her Native American Culture?
Several cultural traits are specific to her Native American culture. The culture believes that her medical conditions have been brought about by evil spirits, and they are dancing to scare away these evil spirits. According to her culture and beliefs, Charity understands that she should endure the pain of childbirth; therefore, she declines the use of epidurals. Members of her family are present to watch the childbirth, and this includes her children. Also, a unique trait is the disposal of the colostrum from the breast.
How would you provide culturally sensitive nursing care to charity and her baby?
There are different ways that culturally sensitive nursing care can be provided to Charity and her baby. In the provision of nursing care, some values are considered to be essential, such as patient choice and patient (Sanchez, Plawecki & Plawecki,1996). In this case, a nurse is accountable and should listen to, respect, and understand the patient’s needs, opinions, values, and ethno-cultural beliefs (Sanchez, Plawecki & Plawecki,1996). This means that the nurse should listen to the preference of Charity on the use of epidurals. Through the integration of these elements into the care plan, the patients are being supported, and their specific health goals are being met.
A nurse is accountable for providing information to the patients on the importance of a proposed treatment to ensure that the consent or lack thereof is informed (Sanchez, Plawecki & Plawecki,1996). It is also the nurse’s responsibility to ensure that the patient understands the treatment, have the necessary information to make an informed decision, and answer questions about their proposed procedures (Sanchez, Plawecki & Plawecki,1996).
Presence of concerns on the decisions that the patient makes that affects the health of the patient negatively, working with the patient is important to ensure that the associated risks are well explained to the patient to enable the patient to make an informed decision (Sanchez, Plawecki & Plawecki,1996). In this case, Charity should be informed of the need for the baby to take in colostrum from the time of childbirth. This is essential since it will strengthen the baby’s immune system (Sanchez, Plawecki & Plawecki,1996).
Further, there is a need for consultations with the health care team to ensure that the treatment provider, healthcare team and colleagues are informed on the concerns related to the care plan and the proposed treatment. This will ensure that there is patient-centered care for Charity and her baby.
References
Sanchez, T. R., Plawecki, J. A., & Plawecki, H. M. (1996). The delivery of culturally sensitive health care to Native Americans. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 14(4),