To be honest I really didn't know the correct answer for a lot of the questions from the Provider's Guide to
Quality and Culture quiz, so it doesn't really surprise me that I only got 11 questions right. I have to admit I felt some of the questions in this quiz were hard to understand what they were asking for. I generally dislike questions that ask which of these are NOT. But I tried my best and came out with a pretty bad score if I am to judge myself here.
Now let me be clear. This score does not define me as prejudice or biased in my eyes. I know that I do have tendencies to judge people before I know them, but I like to think I do well at pushing those feelings aside so that I can see what kind of person they are with a clean slate.
I will admit that this quiz did open up my eyes about how little I know of other cultures or heritages than my own. I have a lot to learn if I am going to be a fair and effective healthcare provider. For example I need to learn more about the Muslim religion. Admittedly I know very little about it, for instance I assumed that Muslim women would not make eye contact because they are taught to be submissive. Turns out the reason is that modesty is an important quality in Islamic tradition.
I also got the question "Which of the following is NOT true of an organization that values cultural competence" wrong. Now this one kind of bugs me that I did get it wrong. I picked the answer that healthcare organizations try to hire people with similar cultural backgrounds or heritage as the patients they provide care to. I know that it is true but I can't help but feel that this is a form of prejudice during hiring then. If they are only treating Hispanic people in a certain clinic, they will only hire Hispanics? It just doesn't seem fair to deny other people who are just as qualified for the job because they are not Hispanic. I understand the need for Spanish speaking employees in this situation but I do not think it necessary that every employee fit an exact mold.
I am ready and willing to learn more about the many different cultures and religions within our US population so that I may be a better healthcare provider. I would like be a part of the improvement of our healthcare industry and being culturally competent myself will hopefully bring us one step closer to this goal.
~Samantha
Citations:
http://erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file=3.0.htm&module=provider&language=English , The Provider's Guide to Quality & Culture. Management Sciences for Health
Hey Samantha,
ReplyDeleteI found that your response was very interesting to read. We both struggled with the quiz the same as it seemed for everyone else. I did end up going through the quiz once more with a more "Robotic" professional mind and the answers that are correct starting coming up more and more. The beliefs, and personality of a person definitely influenced the answers on this quiz. I think the quiz was intended for people to get a lot wrong, so don't get discouraged! We both have the same viewpoint of not letting the quiz define who we are.
As for goals in the end, we do share the similar goal of learning cultures, and religions to better healthcare provider experience overall for everyone. We also share that goal of wanting to be a part of the improvement in the healthcare industry as well. One goal that I did have that you didn't would be, raising awareness of to newer and older generations of the new norms, technology, and knowledge in the health care industry. Do you think that this should also be a a lesson to be taught?
I believe it should because it will increase the patients knowledge, and that will lead to them understanding more of the professional side of the healthcare industry.
-Nathan Lao
It looks like we got very similar results on this quiz, I like how you said your poor results mark you as a prejudiced person. It is human nature to judge what we don't know, as long as we are open to other ideas and treat everyone equally then we are being fair. I got the question about Muslim women making eye contact wrong too; looking back on it I am mad that I picked they are taught to be submissive because that has a very negative and judgmental connotation. This quiz really opened my eyes that learning about other cultures will benefit me and my future patients.
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