Canada, the United States, and European nations are presently facing a migration crisis of a magnitude that has not been seen since the massive population displacements of the post–World War II era (Fleras, 2015). Due to the effects of globalization, economic policies, financial constraints, and forced migrations due to environmental or armed conflicts, nurses are providing health care to very diverse and sometimes vulnerable populations such as refugees and asylum seekers (Racine & Lu, 2015). On the other hand, globalization also brings increased ethnic and cultural diversity within health care organizations, which affects the way nurses deliver care and how they interact with nurses coming from other countries. More than ever, nurses must be culturally competent and culturally safe in their everyday practice regardless of the health settings in which they work. Similarly, nurse managers need to understand their roles in supporting cultural competency and safety at both the individual and the organizational level. Cultural competency and cultural safety are key skills for nurses to acquire and sustain. The Canadian Nurses Association, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, and the US Office of Minority Health are among the major regulatory nursing bodies and organizations that recognize the moral and ethical duty of nurses to advocate for and provide culturally competent care.The History of Cultural Diversity In Nursing Essay
2.2 TERMINOLOGY
Cultural diversity refers to cultural differences and how individuals and groups vary based on certain ethnic, racial, and cultural attributes. However, the concept of cultural diversity is complex, as the recognition of this diversity does not mean that the differences of the “Other” are respected and accepted (Bhabha, 1994). Andrews and Boyle (2012) define diversity as “differences in race, ethnicity, national origins, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability or disability, social and economic status or class, education, and related attributes of groups of people in society” (p. 5). Cultural diversity in our country requires that nurses become culturally knowledgeable and conscious of their attitudes toward people from other ethnocultural groups. Issues of race and ethnicity are often conflated and emerge as problematic issues arising from cultural conflicts or misunderstandings between individuals and groups. It is, therefore, important to understand the differences between ethnicity and race.The History of Cultural Diversity In Nursing Essay
Ethnicity and Ethnocentrism
The context of race and ethnic relations represent a challenge of contemporary nursing practice as our world becomes more global and diversified. Cornell and Hartmann (2007) define an ethnic group as “a collectivity within a larger society having real or putative common ancestry, memories of a shared historical past, and a cultural focus on one or more symbolic elements defined as the epitome of their peoplehood” (p. 19). Ethnicity and race represent different concepts, yet they sometimes overlap. For example, Ericksen (2010) underlines that Croatians, Serbs, and Bosnians can be seen as caucasian, but they form various ethnic groups. The same reasoning applies to Asian peoples with ethnic differences that include Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, and Cambodian peoples. Cornell and Hartmann (2007) reinforce the notion that ethnic groups are self-conscious of their distinct characteristics. Eriksen (2010) defines ethnicity as “the relationships between groups whose members consider themselves distinctive” (p. 10). Ethnicity and the values underlying the belonging to an ethnic group may be used to categorize individuals and groups based on some norms or values that can cause prejudice. This process is called ethnocentrism.The History of Cultural Diversity In Nursing Essay
Ethnocentrism refers to the “universal tendency of human beings to think that their ways of thinking, acting, and believing are the only right, proper, and natural ways” (Purnell, 2013, p. 7). Ethnocentrism can lead to cultural impositions, which may create conflicts with clients and nurse colleagues because of different worldviews on health, illness, or nursing. Ethnocentrism not only affects interactions between nurses and clients or groups, but also creates or reinforces inequities in accessing health care. Ethnocentrism may affect health and clinical outcomes because underserved and underprivileged groups may refrain from consulting nurses or other health professionals if they feel these professionals do not respect their ethnocultural beliefs (Sampselle, 2007). Ethnocentrism violates nursing’s mandate of advocacy and social justice by bringing prejudices into the professional delivery of care (Boutain, 2016).The History of
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