General

Summary of "DISCOVERING CULTURAL ASPECTS OF NURSE-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS"

Known as the melting pot of the world, America is a nation of rich history based on different cultures, ideas, and religions. Discovering Cultural Aspects of Nurse-Patient Relationships reported by Susan Kleiman explores in details effects of the multicultural characteristic on the unique alliance between nurses and patients. She suggests that as the diversity of the populations is growing, health care providers must consider the fact that the multicultural environment impacts not just on the patients, but also on the nurses themselves in relations to practices, attitudes, and the quality of care.

By sharing her experience from many cultural interactions, the author concludes that as nurses exercise their cultural knowledge during the nurse- patient communication process, they should not rely alone on the generalized assumptions. Since cultural attributes are then tied into individuals' interpretations by the means of their own principles and beliefs, patient's personal differentiation and the way they interprets the received cultural message are necessary to be fully considered . To accomplish the goal, a process including four major steps is designed to help health care professionals acquiring cultural awareness, sensitivity, and competence: experiential awakening, self-understanding, dialogic openness, and inter-subjective dialog.

In order to better comprehend the depths and feelings of their patients, nurses need to carefully examine the construct of religion, social, and personal psychological issues of each single individual whom nurses encounter while providing care.

Summary of "CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON CULTURE IN NURSING"

Nurses not only observe and collect information about patients but important they need to analyze the processes