How the Negative or Positive Assumptions of a Nurse Might Influence Healthcare

Cultural Competence: Muslim patients
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Cultural Competence: Muslim patients
The American society nowadays is more and more becoming a rich melting pot of ethnicities, cultures, as well as religions. Nursing staffs should have a culturally diverse knowledge base as this would enable them to offer patient-centred and individualized care. Other than knowing the religious and cultural beliefs of the patients, nursing staffs should understand the rationales that support those beliefs since they could impact the care plan of the patients (Douglas et al., 2011). In this paper, a major religious group that is present in my community is identified and my assumptions regarding this group are discussed. Moreover, how the negative or positive assumptions of a nurse might influence the care given to this group is discussed exhaustively.
In my community, a major religious group that is present is Islam given that there is a considerable Muslim population in the area where I live. Being a Christian myself, I consider Muslim people as having a culture that is different from mine. I hold several assumptions regarding Muslims. First, I believe that patients who are Muslim always prefer to be treated by a same sex caregiver and they usually shun physical contact such as shaking hands with caregivers of the opposite gender. Secondly, I believe that these patients usually decline medicines that contain alcohol, pork products, or gelatine. Thirdly, the females usually cover the whole of their body using veils and attire since Muslims are highly modest and nudity for them is a major concern. Fourthly, I believe that Muslims discourage withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment and an Imam is the person who is requested to assist in making decisions concerning the patient’s end-of-life. Moreover, when they take a bath, patients of Muslim religion usually demand that water must be poured from a water jug. They also pray roughly 5 times each day hence medication administration, treatments, and procedures should never occur during prayer times.
A nurse’s negative assumptions may influence the...