Week 7-CULTURE DISCUSSION RESPONSE
Thank you for your post. I would like to add on caring for the Indian patient in a culturally competent way. There is much diversity in the practices and beliefs among the Hindus, with no central authority and hundreds of different sects. Hinduism offers its followers complete freedom to practice the religion in whichever way they choose though there are cultural and personal variations that are applicable to all Hindu patients. Due to these variations at a personal level, it is important that a healthcare practitioner consults with the patient on the level of personal religious practice and observance. Nonetheless, Hindu patients should not be regarded as special based on their religion and require additional attention from the healthcare practitioner (Bellwood, 2019).
Because of the common beliefs among the Hindus of karma (which is the belief that every action that a person makes has a future consequence) and also believe in reincarnation, a Hindu patient may display acceptance of their illness and may be inclined to accept the healthcare providers’ instructions (Fitch & Bartlett, 2019). If a patient is deemed to have insufficient English competency, then the healthcare provider should engage them in the mother tongue with the help of an interpreter. Additionally, it is important that the healthcare provider discusses religious observance with the patient, including astrological beliefs, dietary needs, cleanliness and bathing, meditation and prayer. Lastly, Hinduism views individual needs in the wider family environment and cultural context. Consequently, family members, more so the elderly ones, may strongly influence the decision making concerning health matters, including informed consent. A Hindu patient may want the family members to make decisions regarding their treatment (Fitch & Bartlett, 2019).
References
Bellwood, L. (2019). Doctors and diversity: Using interfaith literacy and interfaith dialogue to improve patient care. Dialog, 58(3), 217-224.
Fitch, M. I., & Bartlett, R. (2019). Patient perspectives about spirituality and spiritual care. Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing, 6(2), 111.
Week 7-CULTURE DISCUSSION RESPONSE
Indian culture is among the world’s oldest; civilization in India began about 4500 years ago. India has 28 states and seven territories, according to World Health Organization. Hindi is the official language of the government. The Constitution of India officially recognizes 23 official languages. India is identified as the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism, the third and fourth-largest religion. About 13 percent of Indians are Muslim, making it one of the largest Islamic nations in the world. Christians and Sikhs make up a small percentage of the population, and there are even fewer Buddhists and Jains, according to the “Handbook.” Different regions have their own distinct cultures. Language, religion, food, and the arts are just some of the various aspects of Indian culture (Zimmermann, 2017).
Indian culture, therefore, is the Indian’s way of life. Because of the population diversity, there is immense variety in Indian culture. The Indian culture is a blend of various cultures belonging to diverse religion, castes, regions follow their own traditions and culture. Indian culture has so many cultural beliefs and values such as (1) Touching the feet of elders: Indian tradition has rich cultural values. In India, younger show great respect to their elders. They touch the feet of their elders daily after waking up and especially on festive occasions or starting an important work. (2) Namaste: the gesture of the Namaste greeting is also part of the Indian culture. People greet each other by saying “Namaste” while joining their hands. “Namaste” means “Hello”. (3) Fasting: many Hindus follow the custom of fasting during any religious occasion like Maha-Shivratri, Diwali, Karvachauth, etc. Wives go on fasting for their Husband’s long life on many occasions like “Karvachauth”. (4) Atithi Devo Bhava: In India, people feel greet when any guest comes to their home. They greet their guests with respect and serve them with utmost care. Indian believes in the concept of “Atithi Devo Bhava” which means “The Guest is considered equal to God”. (5) Yoga and Meditation: Yoga is another ancient practice that involves certain breathing and postural exercises aimed at uplifting the bodily, mental, and spiritual well-being. Meditation, also known as Dhyan in Hindi, is aimed at focusing inwards instead of the outside world. The Indian way of meditation offers immense health benefits and is quite popular all around the world (The Indian Culture, 2018).
Spirituality in India is not just an esoteric philosophy or practice, it has found its place in the most commonplace routines and daily lives of India’s people. In India, spiritualism is not an obsession of the human mind, rather it is a heritage as well as a continuous tradition. Out of the varied values of Indian culture, those based on spiritualism have contributed a lot- harnessing the spirit of the Indians throughout the ages. As the result, the spiritual-minded Indians have succeeded in maintaining their Indianness which could not have been possible otherwise. It has been also possible due to the fact that Indian life is dominated by temperament which is well marked with spiritualism (Goswami, 2017). Hinduism embraces many religious ideas. For this reason, it’s sometimes referred to as a “way of life” or a “family of religions,” as opposed to a single, organized religion. Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as “Brahman,” but still recognize other gods and goddesses. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the universal law of cause and effect). One of the key thoughts of Hinduism is “atman,” or the belief in the soul. This philosophy holds that living creatures have a soul, and they are all part of the supreme soul. The goal is to achieve “moksha,” or salvation, which ends the cycle of rebirths to become part of the absolute soul. One fundamental principle of religion is the idea of people’s actions and thoughts directly in their current life and future lives. Hindus strive to achieve dharma, which is a code of living that emphasizes good conduct and morality. Hindus revere all living creatures and consider the cow a sacred animal. Food is an important part of life for Hindus. Most don’t eat beef or pork, and many are vegetarians. Hinduism is closely related to other Indian religions, including Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism (History. Com Editors, 2017).
As a nurse, this knowledge helps me realize the importance of cultural competence in providing quality health care services. Cultural competence is understanding the patient population’s diversity and how their cultural practices or beliefs influence their healthcare decisions. This includes understanding the views, communication styles, attitudes, and behaviors. This knowledge will improve my practice with activities like asking the right questions when collecting patient’s medical information and developing therapeutic relationships that allow patients to trust my health care skills and expertise. Additionally, this knowledge will also equip me to create interventions that can help other medical professionals improve their services to diverse patients by developing cultural competence. As I belong to the Sikhism culture of India but I remember one incident while I was working in a hospital a few months ago. I admitted a 30 years female patient on the maternity unit with hyperemesis gravidarum and she was vomiting but she was not eating. she was on intravenous fluids. I ask the reason why you are not eating and she told me that she belongs to the Hindu religion of India, and today she keeps the “Karvachauth fast” for her husband for his long life. As a nurse, I tried to explain to her that I respect her values but right now her priority needs to be her and her unborn baby’s health. She was not ready to listen either. Then after the doctor came and tried to explain to her the same thing and she said she is scared if she will not keep that fast maybe her husband will not have a long life and her in-laws will blame her. After that it was a change of shift time; night shift nurse came and I gave her the report at the bedside and explain the scenario by respecting her religious values, and I left. But sometimes, I still think about that patient. Sometimes it’s a challenging task to deal with cultural beliefs but I hope in the future as an advanced practice nurse I will serve the patients depending upon their medical condition along with having knowledge of their cultural values and practices.
References
The Indian CULTURE: Traditions, Religions, Festivals, music, Dance, Clothing, Food, Movies. (2018, May 31). Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://trebeki.info/en/the-
Goswami, D. (2017). Spiritualism in India. Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://www.dailypioneer.com/
History.com Editors. (2017, October 06). Hinduism. Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://www.history.com/
Zimmermann, K. (2017). Indian culture: Traditions and customs of India. Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://www.livescience.com/
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