A worldview is a person’s perception of how the world is. It is a reflection of their beliefs and values. Values and beliefs influence our worldview and the decisions we make in life, whether it is personal or professional. As a nurse, I believe that everyone should be treated as equals. It is my duty to care for others with integrity, respect, and humility. Caring with humility means that I don’t see myself as being better than those I care for. Although we play different roles, both the patient and practitioner are important. Our worldview influences our ability to show humility, both culturally and spiritually. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines cultural humility as an individual’s active engagement in an ongoing process of self-reflection to examine their personal background and social position to determine how they influence interpersonal interactions, gain deeper realization, understanding, and respect for cultural differences, and recognize areas in which they do not have all the relevant experience and expertise and demonstrate a nonjudgmental willingness to learn from a person/community/population about their experiences and practices(CDC, 2022). Spiritual humility is having a humble spirit and knowing that just as the Heavenly Father loves me, He loves everyone. This belief helps us to treat everyone with respect and love.
I was taught throughout life to treat everyone with respect to get respect in return. Although this may not always be true, I make a conscious effort to consider the feelings of those that I care for. As advanced practice nurses, we will be responsible for the care of people of many cultures, religions, and races. These factors influence how a person may view healthcare providers and how they respond to care recommendations. They can also affect communication between the patient and the practitioner. As practitioners, we must be culturally competent. Cultural competence is the “ability of systems to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs, and behaviors, including the tailoring of healthcare delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs” (Brach et al., 2019). Cultural competence and cultural humility should be used together in care delivery. Nurses can learn and understand the cultural beliefs and values of a community, but if we don’t make a conscious effort to provide care in the best manner that respects the patient’s beliefs and values, care will be lacking. We have to continue to examine ourselves to ensure that we are not making decisions for others based on our beliefs and values.
Brach, C., Hall, K.K, & Fitall, E. (2019). Cultural Competence and Patient Safety. Patient Safety Network. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspective/cultural-competence-and-patient-safety
Centers for Disease Control. (2022). Principle 1: Embrace cultural humility and community engagement. https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/equity/guide/cultural-humility.html
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