Asian Culture

This week's culture was focused on the Asian Culture. In this reflection journal I will discuss some cultural family and communication practices, and how it we use this knowledge as health care professionals.


Lesson's Learned: Asian Culture
This week I focused my search on the role of family within the Asian Culture. I've noticed within all my research on the many different cultures, how much family plays a large role on cultural practices. Within the Asian culture the family plays a vital role in one's identity and acts as a protection against trials in life. One key factor to family is, loyalty. This factor along with respect is important within the family dynamics. So if an individual's behavior disrupts the family harmony or brings disgrace into the family, that individual is severely dishonored. Another critical component to the family, is being respectful and abiding to any elders/parents requests and demands. Within this rule of being respectful, it is common practice to only speak when spoken to, or only talk if it's of high importance. Additionally, it is believed that Asian individuals must always show and demonstrate the utmost self-control. It may be common to see Asian patients unwilling to show strong emotions such as pain within the healthcare setting. Due to their family and cultural dynamics most Asian individuals will strive to be stoic-like, which may making interpreting their needs difficult.

Another component to the Asian Culture is a lack of directness within conversations. Within the Asian Culture, it is essential to "keep the peace" and preserve harmony between people. Thus, Asian individuals may be indirect when answering questions to avoid possible harsh feelings. Additionally, the Asian language consists of high context communication. Within their language, there are certain factors within communication that are just as important as actual words. Factors such as eye contact, body gestures, pitch, use of silence, intonation, and word stress play a major role in communication. In most cases, Asians are very concerned with being socially polite with their encounters with others. However, within the American Culture, it is more common for people to participate in low context communication techniques, and most are comfortable with direct questions and answers. Whereas Asian's, may not be comfortable with abrupt and direct questions. Asian individuals may show hesitation when direct questions are asked and may give polite smiles and head-nodding when they may not understand. This polite cultural practice, may be misunderstood to doctors and healthcare professionals as an agreement or understanding of care. When working with Asian patients, it will be important to understand smiling may not indicate complete understanding.

#nursingbyCOURTNEY
Now knowing more about some of common the Asian Cultural beliefs, I think making sure there is an understanding when communicating with Asian families and patients is very important. Additionally, being conscious of how Asian's communicate will be helpful in knowing if the patient understands or is actually confused about a treatment or diagnosis. It will also be important to give the patient adequate time for silence and time for reflection on things that have be talked about. Understanding possible cultural barriers with Asian patients will be important to know and understand in order to give the best care possible.

Courtney's "Two-Cent's" 
After these many weeks of learning about different cultures, I've noticed recognizing and understanding a patient's cultural background is the key to being able to communicate effectively. I've also noticed how much the family influences each culture differently, but overall it is a crucial component to culture. As nurses we must be able to accommodate our approach to fit the cultural needs of our patients and their family members. I hope that after all the things I've learned about all these cultures I will be able to use this knowledge and apply it to my nursing care. I plan to continue developing an awareness for Asian family cultures, to help me understand better how to approach care and recognize ways to adapt to their cultural practices.

References:
http://www.dimensionsofculture.com/2010/10/cultural-values-of-asian-patients-and-families/
Pictures taken from: https://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2011/04/26/wsu-celebrates-asian-culture/asianculture8/
http://asiasociety.org/texas/events/family-day-chinese-culture
http://english.china.com/chinese/everyday/

Judaism

This week's culture is focused on the Jewish Culture. I was interested to know more about basic Jewish beliefs and cultural practices. This week I will discuss the things I learned and how it will apply to my nursing practice. 


Lesson's Learned: Jewish Culture
Within the Jewish Culture there are many traditional holidays. One popular holiday is the "Passover." This holiday is celebrated to remember the story in Exodus and when Moses lead his people out of Egypt and away from slavery. Many Jewish individuals will hold a large feast in remembrance of the sacred day. Within the Jewish Culture the Passover holiday last for about 7-8 days (depending on where the Jewish individual lives) and there is a specific order for all events throughout the holiday. The Passover "Seder" is a ritual feast that usually marks the start of the Passover holiday. During this feast many gather together both friends and family to share ancient stories of the land of Israel and eat traditional foods in celebration of their freedom. 

Another Jewish Cultural practice I researched this week, was Jewish beliefs regarding the Sabbath Day.  Each week, their Holy Day begins from sundown on Friday evening until Saturday at sundown. During their "Holy Day" it is thought to be forbidden to perform certain "work" tasks. Additionally, it's believed that they are not allowed to request others to perform work for them. But they are allowed to give hints in what they need. Work tasks include initiating the flow of electricity, such as: turning on a light switch, pushing the call light, changing the bed position, operating a PCA pump, etc. They are not allowed to engage in any work-related activity/task. The Sabbath day is a very sacred and holy day for Jewish individuals. Thus it's important to be respectful to Jewish people who choose to worship on those days. 

#nursingbyCOURTNEY.... How to apply this knowledge to your nursing care
While not all Jewish individuals will practice strict Sabbath Day restrictions or participate in the Passover holiday, it's important to let people practice how they choose. Caring for patients of different nationalities and beliefs will involve knowing their religious and cultural backgrounds. It's important as nurses to understand what restraints cultures may have to be able to understand how to proceed with care.  By understanding what and why they believe certain things will be helpful in knowing how to give these patients the best care possible. For example, we will better be able to pick up on hints they give in regards to helping them in tasks they need during the Sabbath. Also knowing about their Sabbath Day beliefs will help us to remember not to schedule medical procedures during this time (unless they are emergent) or discharging without prior consent. 



Courtney's "Two-Cent's"
Learning about the Jewish Culture has been very interesting. Not only did I learn more about their Sabbath Day beliefs and holiday practices, I also learned about their dietary restrictions. It was interesting to know that there are forbidden animals that they are not allowed to eat. This restriction includes refraining from eating the organs, flesh, milk and eggs of the forbidden animal. Along with these restrictions there are specific ways to eat accepted animals. The Jewish law states that, "birds or mammals must be killed in accordance to the Jewish law and all blood must be drained from the meat or cooked out of it before it is eaten." It is also believed that the meat of the mammal must not be eaten with dairy. Because of the restriction of not eating meat with dairy, the utensils that came in contact with either the dairy or meat must not be used. However, it is considered acceptable to eat fruit, vegetables, grains, eggs, and fish with their meat. 

There are many other rules and regulations of the Jewish diet, so it will be very important to have a background knowledge of common Jewish beliefs. Regardless of different opinions on how the Jewish practice their beliefs, as a health care providers we need to be considerate and respectful. Also I think it would be a good nursing practice to first ask, before assuming all Jew's believe and practice the same. I believe that the more we get to know our patients, we will be able to understand their personal beliefs and practices, and know better how to accommodate to their personal needs. 







References:
http://dinolingo.com/blog/2011/05/04/israeli-culture-for-children/#.WCdzV-ErKAw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder
http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Article/Care-of-the-Orthodox-Jewish-Patient.aspx
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Projects/Reln91/Blood/Judaism/kashrut/kashrut.htm
Picture taken from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bar_Mitzvah_a_Jewish_culture.jpg
http://www.cute-calendar.com/event/european-day-of-jewish-culture/19203.html
http://forward.com/news/132609/jewish-nursing-homes-embracing-a-new-model-of-care/

Native American Culture

This week's topic was based on the Native American Culture. During my research on this culture,  I realized how many tribes are within the Native American Culture. Because there are so many, I will discuss basic Native American Cultural beliefs and share how I will use this knowledge in my nursing care.

Lesson's Learned: Native American Culture
Prior to this week, I had no idea how many tribes there were within the Native American Culture. According to Running Strong for American Indian Youth they stated, "There are 566 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages in the United States, each with their own culture, language and history." In the article it expresses how every tribe may have specific traditions and unique styles of ways of living. Each tribe may eat, dress, and participate in cultural rituals differently than other tribes.

Within the Native American culture, it is believed that herbs have an affect on the soul or spirit of an individual. Both now and in the past, spiritual healing was believed to be performed by the tribe's Medicine Man or Shaman. These spiritual healing rituals involved the use of natural herbal remedies to aid Native American people in the healing and cleansing of the spirit. Most healing rituals are still being performed and play a large role within Native American medicine. Another cultural practice among Native American's is death rituals. It is believed that all death rituals have been passed down from generation to generation from their ancestors. It is a cultural belief, that death rituals focus on helping loved ones be more comfortable and protected in the journey to the afterlife. It's believed that when one passes, the spirit leader will perform the death ritual and ask the deceased ancestors to aid them throughout the ritual. Native American's will gather after a loved one has passed, and leave tools, weapons, pots, food, jewelry and other items in their grave to help the individual in the afterlife.

#nursingbyCOURTNEY.... how to use this info in your nursing care. 
Throughout all my studies and research in other cultures I've noticed each culture has specific beliefs and practices regarding death. It's been interesting to see how death influences one's religious and cultural beliefs. Because spiritually is a key factor in the Native American Culture it will be important to recognize their believes in healing and spiritual ceremonies. Its critical for healthcare providers be aware of their spiritual needs in order to provide culturally competent care. Although, not all rituals are allowed within the hospital setting, nurses should be advocates for adapting to these cultural practices and find possible options for clients to practice their spiritual beliefs. I think overall, if we are willing to be open and understanding to different religious or cultural practices we will be more able to become more culturally competent.

Courtney's "Two-Cent's"
Over the course of these several weeks I have learned so much about the many cultures out there. Not only have I become more aware of cultures, I have been able to reflect more on how I personally feel towards different cultures. I've noticed that the more I've learned about a specific culture the more my mind set has been able to change. Although I don't know many Native American individuals, I believe that they have a very interesting and fascinating history and culture. I hope that the more I come to know these individuals the more I will be able to understand and adapt to their cultural needs. Overall, I am so glad I took this course because I have felt an increased knowledge about how to give better care to my patients.

References:
Quote taken from: http://indianyouth.org/american-indian-life/traditions-culture
https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-culture/herbal-remedies.htm
http://dying.lovetoknow.com/native-american-death-rituals
Picture taken from: http://www.hmxuan.com/bwin/bwin+apk+download+android+apk+games2C+apps+for+baixar+bwin+casino+roulette
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/468796642433981715/
http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/Nebraska-Nursing-Home-for-Native-Americans-to-Open-Next-Year-323999991.html