My Profile
Active Members
TodayLast 7 Days
more...
Awards & Gifts
Online Exams
Fresher Jobs
Our fresher job section is exclusively for fresh graduates! Find jobs for freshers in major Indian
cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune or Kochi
Resources
Find educational articles, blogs, discussion threads and other resources.
Colleges
Find details about any college in India or search for courses.
Advertisements
|
How Anthropology Applies to Nursing
Posted Date: 15 Mar 2008 Resource Type: Articles/Knowledge Sharing Category: How things work
|
Posted By: Randy A. Sprouse Member Level: Bronze
Rating:  Points: 3
|
|
|
Anthropology and Nursing have many different concepts in common. Both fields are concerned with discovering information about their perspective subjects. Anthropologists rely on several different concepts and ideas to research and interact with the cultures that they are studying. Some of the concepts used by Anthropologists that are relative to the Nursing profession are cultural relativity, holism, modernization, fieldwork, ethics and values. Over the course of the following pages I am going to explain how nursing is relative to the previous concepts mentioned.
The first and possibly most important concept that is relative to both fields of study is cultural relativity. Our textbook as defines cultural relativity:
"The principle that each culture has its own moral integrity and should not be judged by the standards of other cultures. The extreme view of cultural relativity holds that anything a culture believes in should be accepted, included, presumably, anti-Semitism that leads to the Holocaust, or female genital mutilation and so forth."
A more understandable way of describing cultural relativity in relation to nursing is sensitivity to other cultures and traditions of those cultures. It is openness to other ways of life, a refusal to demonize others, and an insistence that understanding must precede judgments. Nurses must be sensitive to the needs, beliefs, and culture of their patients. We must be able to accept the personal beliefs of the patient that relates to their medical treatment, and not judge them based on our own beliefs. Some of the common questions that relate to healthcare and a patients culture are:
> Is the patient suffering from a cultural illness such as a culture bound syndrome or is the illness a biological illness that is treatable with medication and/or modern medical treatments. > Is the patient's particular culture accepting of the recommended course of treatment? > Who is responsible for making decisions relating to the patients medical care/treatment?
Some key points that nurses have to keep in mind when treating multi- cultural patients and staying sensitive to their beliefs are:
> Recognize that values and beliefs vary not only among different cultures but also within cultures. > View values and beliefs from different cultures within historical, healthcare, cultural, spiritual, and religious contexts. > Learn as much as you can about the language, customs, beliefs and values of cultural groups. > Be aware of your own cultural values and biases, a major step to decreasing ethnocentrism and cultural imposition. > Be alert to and try to understand the nonverbal communications of your own and various cultures such as personal space preferences, body language, and style of hair and clothing. > Be aware of bio-cultural differences manifested in the physical exam, in types of illness, in response to drugs, and in health care practices.
Holism is another anthropological concept that is relative to the field of nursing. Our textbook defines holism as: "The principle that aspects of a culture are likely to be, to some extent, interrelated, leading to the research principle that is useful to explore the possible interconnections within a culture.
"
Holism is an interesting concept due to the fact that it is concerned with looking at other cultures and learning to recognize the similarities they have within our own cultures. By understanding the holistic point of you can be more compassionate to the patient in the respect that you will notice that we are not that different from other cultures. Somehow, some way our culture is interconnected to other cultures, and it makes us realize that our patient is really not that different from us after all.
Modernization is a concept that is defined as "An ethnocentric western notion of culture change that makes other cultures more like us." Nurses in the United States are privileged to have them most state-of-the-art medical technology to treat patients. We have to keep in mind that not all cultures and areas of the world are fortunate enough to have these hi-tech means of medical treatment.
Anthropologists use the concept of fieldwork to discover information about different cultures and civilizations. Nurses use the components of fieldwork to discover information about their patients. Participant Observation is a component used by nurses during the initial screening, observing the patient as to notice any abnormalities in their appearance, behavior, or actions. Nurses to get to know the history of their patients by conducting interviews with the patient, asking them what their signs/symptoms are, how long they have been having the signs/symptoms, have they ever had any problems like this in the past, is their a family history of the problem, etc. This is usually done face to face with the patient, however sometimes it can be done over the phone to obtain a preliminary diagnosis. The medical community uses focus groups in the forms counseling, group therapy, and also physician consultation and staff briefings. Focus Groups are popular ways to include many different individuals in the treatment and/or diagnosis of patients. Medical staff use questionnaires obtain medical histories, family histories and any other information that the patient feels is pertinent to his/her problem and/or treatment. Recording data is an important part of nursing and other medical professions. Everything about a patient must be documented, all signs/symptoms, treatments, medications, reactions to medications, etc. Documentation is done to protect both the patient and the healthcare provider. For example, if a patient has a particular drug allergy and it is not documented, he/she may be given that drug and a life threatening reaction may occur. If the information had been documented dispensing the wrong medication could have been avoided.
Ethics is an important part of nursing and an important concept of anthropology. Ethics is defined as "A systematic way of examining the moral life to discern right and wrong." An ethical decision requires a decision or action based on moral reasoning and it involves protecting the privacy of the patient. In anthropology an ethical dilemma is usually a situation where one's own personal interests conflict with broader professional standards, or code of ethics. In nursing and ethical dilemma is the same thing. Sometimes nurses or other medical personnel will be faced with ethical dilemma and they have to know how to handle them in a professional confidential manner. As a nurse I will be faced with ethical dilemmas that would go against my beliefs and I will have to put my own beliefs and morals aside and abide by my patients wishes.
Values are the final concept that I am going to address in this paper. The values of nursing in the United States are embedded in the values of
the U.S. American culture with its emphasis on self-reliance and individualism. Many cultures do not share the primacy of the value of individualism. In 70% of other cultures, loyalties of a person to a group exceed the rights of the individual. In many other cultures health decisions are not made by an individual but by a group: family, community and/or society. Nurses have to be aware of their patient's views when it comes to values so they do not infringe on the patients personal values.
The following are some examples that I found to be interesting. The examples are of the differences in the beliefs during the prenatal, birthing, and postpartum practices in the Chinese and Portuguese cultures.
Chinese Beliefs
> Pregnancy is considered a "hot" condition, so to balance the scale between "hot and cold" or "ying and yang" cold foods must be consumed throughout pregnancy. > Do not touch anything adhesive or anything with glue for this causes the baby to have birthmarks. > Avoid eating shellfish because it can cause a rash on baby. > Pineapple can cause miscarriages. > The placenta must be kept and buried near the birthplace so that in death it may be worn into heaven as a symbol of atonement and humility of earth life. It is required to be reborn. > A necklace must be placed around the baby's neck before the umbilical cord is cut, this will "tie" the baby's life to the necklace and not the cord. > During labor crying out will attract evil spirits to the new child, so silence is recommended to protect the baby.
Portuguese Beliefs
Do not eat spicy food because this may cause the child to be born blind.
Do not wear necklaces because the umbilical cord may wrap around baby's neck during pregnancy.
Women were not allowed to scream or make loud noises during labor because it was considered a sign of weakness.
The husband and grandfather burned the placenta so no one could harm the baby.
To ease baby's hiccups, put a piece of paper on infant's forehead.
In conclusion I believe that taking this course has helped me to realize that I have to have an open mind and broad view of the world to help anyone become the best possible nurse I can be. I had my reservations in the beginning because I thought there was no way that I would get anything that I could use in nursing out of anthropology, but now I realize that I was wrong.
|
Responses
|
No responses found. Be the first to respond and make money from revenue sharing program.
|
|
|