The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

2 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 4 by crossing the line of what is culturally acceptable. Therefore it is important to approach a patient with a culturally sensitive mind. But, here is the twist. What if certain cultural practices or traditions put one’s health at risk? Though it is important to approach a patient with a culturally sensitive mind, nurses should help their patients to moderate and regulate cultural behaviors and culturally-induced assumptions that are harmful to health. As a nursing student, I learn that it is important to be sensitive to my patient’s values and belief systems. I learn that my patient’s cultural background influences his or her way of coping with illness and diseases. Dr. Dawn Doutrich, an associate professor at Washington State College of Nursing, emphasizes the important of cultural proficiency in his article Identity, Ethics and Cultural Safety: Strategies for Change. “Nurses are committed,” he says, “to respect the patient’s autonomy, recognizing his or her freedom to contribute to the treatment process.” However, as much as it is important to understand the patient’s culture, it is crucial, first and foremost, to help the patient to become healthy again. In fact, nurses must prioritize the goal to restore the patient’s health above anything else. Though it is important to approach a patient with a culturally sensitive mind, nurses should help their patients to moderate and regulate cultural behaviors and culturally-induced thoughts that harm the patient’s health. I am not implying that culture is secondary in nature. In fact, it is an indispensable part in planning patient’s health care. A culture revolves around the heart of an ethnic group. In fact, it is one of the most celebrated components of humanity. Culture refers to the cumulative reservoir of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies and religion that a large group of people came to adopt over time as something acceptable and customary (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010). Although culture is tacitly oriented, it speaks volumes of what a group of people believe and value. Culture not only encompasses a people group’s general beliefs and values but also revolves around the food and social atmosphere. For example, African Americans are particularly family-oriented because their ancestors valued family reliance. Family reliance and trust were what embraced and healed the wounds of the torment of slavery among them (Guada, 2012). The time of slavery shaped the way African Americans interact with