Special topics in nursing practice.

With each passing year, the United States is becoming more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. This growth of diversity is not occurring in our population of healthcare professionals and this lack of parallel growth results in the provision of discordant patient care. Nurses must be educated to be able to negotiate across cultural divides that may occur during our interactions with patients whose cultural background is different from our own. Nurses must become culturally competent to provide safe, high-quality care for diverse patient populations for improved patient outcomes. 

Part 1. Discuss the following questions:

How does culture shape nurses’ concepts of health and their nursing practice?

What does it mean to be culturally competent and culturally sensitive? Why are these important in nursing? 

Part 2. Discuss the meaning of healthcare disparities.

Choose one of the following cultural groups. Discuss the healthcare disparities they encounter and culture-specific nursing considerations.

1. Asian/Pacific Islander Americans

2. Black Americans

3. Latino/Hispanic Americans

4. Native Americans/Alaska Natives/American Indians

5. White Americans

Part 3: Discuss what learned in the OMH Cultural Competency Assignment.

Support your discussion with information from one or more of the ANA textbooks