Reflection on Cultural Awareness

Question: Discuss about the Reflection on Cultural Awareness. Answer: Introduction: As an Enrolled Nurse, I know that I am operating in a diverse society comprising of people from different racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, geographical, and economic backgrounds. However, to deliver quality services, I have a challenge of becoming a flexible professional who understands respects, accommodates, tolerate, and appreciates everyones cultural beliefs. In this paper, I will use Gibbs Reflection Cycle to present a detailed reflection on my interaction with an Aboriginal patient whom I got a privilege to serve last month. On this day, I was attending to an Aboriginal client from the outskirts of Melbourne. What happened is that we were engaged in a discussion regarding breast cancer. After providing all the information on the diagnosis, treatment, causes, and management of the condition to the client, we could not agree because the client insisted that the cause and successful treatment of the disease has a spiritual connection. When our discussion touched on spirituality, I felt that the client was talking in reference to the Aboriginal culture. Already, I knew that Aboriginals are superstitious people who believe in traditional healing methods and appreciation of the contributions of the supernatural forces in the cause and healing of chronic illnesses like breast cancer. I strongly hold the view that these were not bad thoughts. They are realistic because they reflect the true picture of the Aboriginals. I was thinking this way because I had a plan of improving the quality of health of the patient. Culture is an indicator that plays a significant role in the promotion of health equity and equality in the society. For a very long time, the country has been having a huge disparity in the attainment of health equity between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities across the country. Therefore, by acknowledging the cultural views of the Aboriginals, it means that I am a culturally-conscious professional who is ready to deliver culturally-responsive healthcare services to my clients no matter how diverse they might be. I appreciate that I respected spirituality which is an important component of healthcare delivery that can facilitate the recovery process for the Aboriginals. If I were confronted with a similar situation, I have to make lots of improvements. In my action plan, I will have to improve on my listening skills. I realized that I did not do a commendable job by listening to the client. At the same time, I was not persuasive in my argument. I spent most of the time asserting my point without giving the patient enough time to express herself. This is the weak are in which I will have to make the necessary improvements. I failed to convince my patient because I had already formed an informed opinion that any Aboriginal subscribes to the traditional views held by the community regarding conventional medicine. Conclusion I tried to do a commendable job. However, I need to make some improvements. If I make these changes, I will have to be a flexible professional who is read to provide culturally-adaptable healthcare services to all my patient s irrespective of their cultural diversities.