I have learned a lot this
semester about a variety of cultures, some I had not even thought about as
being different from myself. I have learned about Native Americans and how they
perceived the "white man." I really enjoyed the book club part of
this class. The book I read was The Dancing Healers by Carl A.
Hammerschlag M.D. Reading this book gave me a much greater understanding of the
Native Americans even though this book was about a Jewish doctor's experiences
with Native American culture. I can't say I have ever really experienced Native
American culture myself so having the opportunity to read this book gave me an
understanding of their culture that I would probably never have if I hadn't
chosen this book. The Native American culture is a very spiritual culture with
a lot of natural remedies, spiritual healing traditions, and a mistrust of
Western medicine. I can understand their mistrust of Western medicine because
most of them did not understand the science of modern medicine and it is hard
to trust something new that you don't understand.
This class also gave me a
better understanding of a number of other major cultures in America today.
African Americans and Asian Americans are the cultures I have had the most
experience with already. I can say that I did know a lot of the content from
module 3 already. I had already learned that African Americans were at the
highest risk for diabetes and that Asian Americans are very family orientated. One
thing I did not know was that Asian Americans do not accept diagnostic
testing. The Asian Americans use of alternative medicine I can agree may
work in some cases but I hope they do not reject modern medicine practices when
it really matters. I did enjoy learning about way finding in that module as
well. I never really knew that there was a term for what all of those signs are
used for but now that I do I can encourage my workplace to improve their signs
and directions. That is one thing that even I can get confused with is the
directive signs, in hospitals especially. I cannot imagine being someone who
doesn't speak or read English trying to find my way through a hospital in
America.
Another fact I learned was
that the U.S. Government created the term Hispanic in the 1970's. This was
something very new for me because I thought it had come from their culture that
they were called Hispanics. Diabetes was also covered in this module which is
covered in every health care class I have taken in some way. Diabetes is such a
prevalent problem in America, it is understandable that every health care class
covers it in their own way so that everyone has a basic understanding of the
disease and why prevention and proper care are so important.
The most eye opening thing I
learned was that Caucasian or "white" included a much wider spectrum
of people than I ever knew. To be perfectly honest I was very naive in a sense
in thinking that "white" meant the white American population and the
European population. Now I know that we include Middle Eastern and North
African people in this classification. Within this module I also learned a
little more about the Amish culture and Roma Americans. Both of these cultures do
not like to use modern medicine unless it is absolutely necessary. I have seen
a couple of those television shows that portrays Amish teenagers on Rumspringa
or Gypsy weddings. I knew those shows were exaggerated for audience appeal, but
I did not realize how they actually had some truth in the main concepts of the
shows. The Gypsy wedding show definitely portrayed the women as being
subordinate after the wedding. That is just part of their culture and their
history, a tradition that is still followed today.
Module 6 covered 2 groups of
people that I had not even thought of as being cultures before this class. I
have always been very accepting and respectful of people with disabilities or
anyone in the LGBT community. I did discover some things that I will definitely
be more aware of when I encounter either of these cultures in my work. For
instance, pressure ulcer prevention is a big focus point at my work now, and
now I know to watch out for people with mobility issues in general. They may be
a perfectly functional quadriplegic, but they have a high risk of pressure
ulcers and obesity. These secondary conditions can lead to a lot of other
complications, not to mention unnecessary pain and discomfort. When it comes to
the LGBT community I will try to remember to be aware of the words and terms I
use when referring to the person. I will continue to be sensitive to their
needs and keep an open door policy if they have any questions or
concerns.
In summary I can say that I
have definitely learned a lot from this course. I feel more confident in my
ability to provide excellent culturally competent care to my patients both now
and in my future career as a diagnostic sonographer. I have actually talked to
my nurse educator at Froedtert and she is going to be getting me signed up for
the culture awareness continued education modules at work. Froedtert really does have an excellent education program with continued
education given every month if not more often and they are giving me the
opportunity to branch out from my required learning into other areas such as
this that will give me the knowledge to become a better health care provider. I
look forward to continuing my education and becoming a culturally competent
health care provider for my patients.
~Samantha Holzberger
