Culture competencemodel

Culture Competence Model The relevance of awareness cannot be overstressed when it comes to dealing with individuals from other cultures and its placement at the head of the mnemonic is quite justified. As discussed in the article written by Campinha-Bacote (2001), awareness gives a nurse the tools to understand cultural differences and to appreciate how different cultures view the health process. For example, it was interesting to find out that some individuals accept pain and suffering as a part of their lives which can help nurses in knowing how the perception of pain can be different for some individuals.
Once this awareness is there, a nurse can develop skills which let him/her understand how the patient views the treatment being given and how they can be made to participate in the process of regaining their health. For example, with culturally aware skills, a nurse may be able to give an addict the right kind of motivation which lets the addict recover quickly. Additionally, as these skills are developed by nurses, the nurse gains knowledge about cultures and cultural aspects which are relevant to the profession of nursing which even include the understanding of why some people may associate illness with supernatural causes (Campinha-Bacote, 2001).
Thus knowledge becomes the binding factor of cultural competence since the more knowledge a nurse has about culture and how culture affects the patient; the more able the nurse will be in handling cultural issues. Without this knowledge, a nurse would show incompetence when dealing with different cultures and this incompetence can be conscious or unconsciously produced (Campinha-Bacote, 2001). On the other hand, with the right knowledge about cultural competence, a nurse would show conscious competence about culture.
This competence or incompetence would become evident in cultural encounters which put the nurse in contact with people from different backgrounds. These encounters can be difficult to deal with and may even cause discomfort for some nurses. However, those who are aware of cultural differences and those who have developed the skills to deal with different cultures may find them to be positive learning experiences rather than difficult to deal with situations (Campinha-Bacote, 2001). In fact, such nurses may even thrive on cultural encounters since they can be seen as opportunities to improve skills.
All these factors are enclosed within the desire of the nurse to become better at dealing with people from different cultures and without this desire, no amount of skill or knowledge is useful. A nurse should be actively engaged in understanding different cultural viewpoints since this leads to a nurse being more engaged towards becoming culturally competent and lets him/her do a better job. In essence, this desire leads to improved healthcare for the patients.
Works Cited
Campinha-Bacote, J. 2001, ‘ A model of practice to address cultural competence in rehabilitation nursing’, Rehabilitation Nursing, 26(1), 8-11.