CHIR13009

Reflective Portfolio Assessment Task 1 - 2020

Harry Camerlengo
Student Number: 12085091
Understanding the diversity in culture is one of the many important components Australian
healthcare practitioners must be aware of when creating an ethical approach to patient centred
care outcomes. The diversity of culture and religion that is present in Australia can be a
challenging task for healthcare practitioners when it comes to delivering culturally competent
medical care. Cultural competence is the ability for health practitioners to deliver a standard
of health care that meets a variety of cultural, religious and social needs of the patient and
their families. As healthcare practitioners in a country that is so vibrant and highly regarded
for its multicultural diversity, strategies to move health professionals’ forward, decrease
barriers and provide culturally competent patient care is pivotal.

Throughout my time as a student of Chiropractic science it has occurred to me that we as

individuals and through society have minimal exposure and understanding of the cultural
standards of health care and the expectations that these cultures require when conversing with
a medical practitioner. When performing a generalised observation on a patient we as
practitioners go through a routine checklist of hygiene, introduction and requesting informed
consent from the patient to remove particular clothing and to touch particular areas on their
body. Over the years it has become apparent to me that I have never really thought about the
challenges I may face with cultural appropriateness. I realise now many practitioners take for
granted the yes that they receive when asking for informed consent and almost expect it as a
generalised patient response. Practitioners can tend to have somewhat of an expectation of
their patient when requesting informed consent, however, this is and may not always be the
case and practitioners should not become complacent when conducting examinations with
new patients of different cultural backgrounds. Culturally diverse patients can often present
communication challenges for healthcare delivery, this can be especially apparent if
sociocultural differences aren’t completely accepted or understood (Betancourt JR, 2003). A
lack of cultural understanding can increase the negative attitude toward the cross-cultural
care, which in turn can also affect the healthcare practitioners perceived preparedness to
interact and care for culturally diverse patients. Anxiety when interacting with people from
different cultures can influence a person’s level of engagement in intercultural
communication and combining this with uncertainty can further decrease effective
communication and lead to use of stereotypes (Gudykunst WB, 2001).

CHIR13009 Reflective Portfolio Assessment Task 2020

Practitioners can often utilise common ‘facts’ or generalised behaviours of certain cultural
groups in order to gain an understanding of what is an isn’t appropriate, however, this
approach could increase the risk of stereotyping and dismissing the individual differences that
patients from a similar cultural background may have. The care of the patient requires
meeting the needs of not only the individual but also the family’s cultural beliefs. Religion
can also provide spiritual guidance as well as an emphasis on maintaining health. When we as
health care practitioners enhance cultural competency and start to provide patient centred
care, this will be the means by which healthcare challenges are ameliorated. Efforts that are
aimed to improve provider level cultural care will go a long way to facilitate cross-cultural
communication and respond to patient needs by tailoring healthcare.

In order to determine if implemented change strategies are to be successful healthcare

organisations must first empower their staff on the importance of awareness through
education and training on the vast cultures and religions and their impact on patient care
(Swihart D, 2020). Practitioner education makes it possible for a respectful dialog between
the patient and their religion along with the impact that it has on evaluation and treatment. As
health care practitioners we need to ensure that we are accustom to various religious and
spirituality aspects in order to communicate correctly with our patients. Listening to the
patient’s beliefs and how those beliefs are tied to the patient’s health can build a positive
relationship between both practitioner and patient. The more informed we become of
religious, spiritual beliefs and custom practices the less room for medical errors and the
greater the communication between patient and practitioner.

CHIR13009 Reflective Portfolio Assessment Task 2020

Reference List

1. Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Ananeh-Firempong, O., 2nd (2003).
Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic
disparities in health and health care. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. :
1974), 118(4), 293–302. https://doi.org/10.1093/phr/118.4.293

2. Gudykunst, W. B., & Nishida, T. (2001). Anxiety, uncertainty, and perceived

effectiveness of communication across relationships and cultures. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25(1), 55–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-
1767(00)00042-0

3. Swihart DL, Martin RL. Cultural Religious Competence In Clinical Practice.

[Updated 2020 Mar 27]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls
Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493216/

CHIR13009 Reflective Portfolio Assessment Task 2020