Review of Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span by Edelman and Mandle.
I agree that nurses need to be culturally competent in health care today.
The face of the US has changed greatly, as the latest census indicates. There are more black and hispanics in all areas, not just in the urban areas. We have people of Asian descent as well as Middle East-born immigrants. We can not have a “one size fits all” health care system, and as nurses are usually the first contact in the health care system, they must be ready to interprete not just language, but culture and values.
Nurses have always been taught to have compassion and empathy, and this has never been more necessary than today. The nurse can shape the “feeling” of the health care system and influence compliance and “change” in the person.
All those involved in health care need to be culturally competent. However, it is especially important for a “patient” to feel included and understood, and since nurses are the most visible health care people they need to be trained for this understanding.