Cultural Competency And Health Education

998 Words4 Pages
Reflective journal As human beings, we have learned behavior patterns which are shared by all of humanity collectively. No matter where people live in the world, there are some cultural patterns that are repeated in different cultures, like: getting communicated with verbal language, using age and gender to classify people, having rules to regulate behaviors, having leadership roles, among others. However, all the cultural patters that people have in common, are different at the same time, each culture has their own characteristics that make one unique to the other. All I have read about cultural competency and health education implied to get involved in health literacy. The articles I read and the videos I watched are…show more content…
Under this conditions the system must have policy, structure, practice, procedures, and dedicated resources to support this capacity (Foundation of Cultural Competency). But the above is not effective if the organization or their employees do not have a cultural sensitivity. USA is a country made by immigrants, it has a diverse population of racial and ethnic communities. This affirmation presents a challenge to health care providers in this country. The caregivers and their patients each bring their own learned patterns of language and culture. .If ta lack of cultural competency is perceived by the patient, the communication between them could be an issue. For example a patient who has limited English proficiency could easily misunderstand the instruction of a medication dosage, or could not understand what their medical condition is, like what they are restricted to do or eat. As a consequence the health provider could be sued by the patient’s families in case of death, or medical emergency, alleging lack…show more content…
Schools overall are often ill equipped to deal appropriately with these cultural competency. Teachers have to face the reality of students who have different religious beliefs, cultural behavior and linguistic diversity. According to the article Communication Cross-Culturally states that acquiring cultural competency is not something that is easy to achieve. However, the process can start by understanding six basic culture differences which should be presented in a multicultural classroom. The first one is the way people acquire information. Most developed countries gather information through books or internet. However there are cultures that still acquires their knowledge through oral tradition. Second one, is the way how cultures solve their conflicts or problems. If a hypothetical situation is presented to a different cultures, they will solve it in different ways. Body language is another way of communication. Cultures have different ways of communicating non-verbally. For example in South America , it is a custom to give a kiss on the cheek when you meet your friends or family, also when someone introduce you a new person , the custom is give a kiss on the cheek, even when this is the first time you see this person. But here it is reserved just to the family or close friends. Other one is the way of learning, however I differ from the web site, because I am firm believer of the
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