Institute for Continuing Education

Establishing a Bond with Patients/Staff of Different Cultures Youth

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

Course Information

We're asked to streamline assessment skills, provide high quality and culturally competent care to diverse populations, monitor patient outcomes, and be cost effective. To provide more services in less time, we must quickly establish a close-knit, cooperative bond with patients and caregivers. These modules present a condensed cultural assessment tool for the specific culture that can be done quickly and enables the healthcare provider to gather essential information necessary for thorough care planning.

In certain geographic locations in the United States, healthcare systems are being visited by recent and second-generation immigrants who use culturally specific healthcare practices. Some come with folk remedies unfamiliar to healthcare providers. Others may be distrustful of Western healthcare practices because their own view of health and illness is rooted in beliefs associated with imbalances in energy or in other important natural forces requiring special spiritual interventions. Some immigrants want to combine their remedies with our treatment recommendations. Often such practices add up to higher costs because more staff time is required to accomplish positive patient outcomes.

We are constantly reminded that healthcare provider are expected to streamline their assessment skills, provide excellent care, monitor patient outcomes, and perform all activities cost effectively. In order to provide more with less, we need to be able to quickly establish a close-knit cooperative bond with all patients and their families, including those from cultures different than our own.

It has only been the last three decades that healthcare professionals have begun to develop an appreciation for the need to incorporate culturally- appropriate clinical approaches into the daily routine of care. However, the literature on the subject is scanty, and sources are scattered.

These modules are written primarily for healthcare professionals who are interested in developing the knowledge of applying transcultural concepts to patient-centered care. Most of the major ethnic groups in the United States are addressed, including the newly arriving peoples from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is also applicable to professionals from other disciplines as psychology, sociology, and anthropology.