NR 305 Week 6 Graded Discussion Topic: Providing Culturally Competent Nursing Care
Weber, J.R. & Kelley, J.H. (2018). Health assessment in nursing (6th
... [Show More] ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
• Chapter 11: Assessing Culture
• Chapter 12: Assessing Spirituality and Religious Practices
Week 6 Discussion Post: Providing Culturally Competent Nursing Care
This week you have your choice of three discussion topics! Select the one that most interests you and answer the corresponding questions completely.
Remember to reference both the book or lesson, and an outside scholarly source.
Option #1:
You are the nurse assessing an Orthodox Jewish client with peptic ulcer. The client is strictly religious and refuses to eat the food provided at the health care facility.
1. Describe how you would further assess and provide care for this client.
2. What steps could you take to increase your cultural competence, if you were not familiar with this faith?
Option #2:
You are the nurse caring for a client with Crohn's disease. The client believes he is being punished by God. The client is spiritually distressed and cannot come to terms with the illness.
1. How would you respond to this client?
As a nurse we should avoid expressing our personal beliefs. “Spiritual distress can be as agonizing as physical pain, and unfulfilled spiritual needs can hinder a patient’s progress” (American Nurse Today, 2017). A spiritual assessment is need in order to create the proper interventions. Allow the patient to express his religious preferences and rituals. Do not feel like you have to answer all the questions they may ask you regarding their religious feelings, sometimes they just need someone to listen. Try to avoid phrases such “you’ll be fine” or “everything is going to be okay” because it can come off as you do not care about their concerns or you believe they are just overreacting. “Providing spiritual care benefits the whole patient and promotes all aspects of health and healing” (American Nurse Today, 2017).
2. What are some identified risk factors for spiritual distress, and recommended interventions?
Some risk factors for spiritual distress are terminal or lifelong diagnoses, depression, death or loss of loved ones, new or worsening disabilities, anxiety and the feeling of loss of faith. “… an individual who believes that diseases are punishment from God or gods may not seek help quickly or even at all” (Kelley & Weber, 2018). Interventions for a patient with spiritual distress are to provide emotional support while maintaining a professional nurse patient relationship, actively listen to the patient, use therapeutic touch when appropriate, and if you and the patient are comfortable and it is appropriate to the patient’s religion you can pray with the patient.
References
Weber, J.R. & Kelley, J.H. (2018). Health assessment in nursing (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
American Nurse Today. (2017, October 06). Meeting your patients spiritual needs. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://www.americannursetoday.com/meeting-your-patients-spiritual-needs/
Option #3:
Describe a time in your clinical nursing practice when you have cared for a client of cultural, religious, or spiritual practices different from your own.
1. What were some of the challenges you faced caring for this client?
2. What steps did you take (or could you have taken) to ensure the patient received culturally/spiritually competent care? [Show Less]