Thursday, March 15, 2012

Intercultural Communication in Healthcare

I have to say that I absolutely love the IMI's special focus on intercultural communication in healthcare setting. As a student who will graduate with a nursing degree in 8 weeks, I have often been puzzled by the lack of training in cross cultural care. While some of my clinical instructors (one comes to mind) have discussed it on occasion, it has been ad hoc. In other words, I see a clear need for systematic integration of intercultural communication into nursing education.

As was discussed in some today's workshops, part of this can and is being addressed via additional training. The Joint Commission (aka JCo), which is the organization responsible for certifying all US hospitals, has begun to push hospitals to offer their employees with intercultural training. While there is no doubt that valuable lessons can be learned by exposing healthcare workers to intercultural case studies and providing informative workshops on traditional rituals, there is also a need for broader institutional change. The impediment is not simply limited to a lack of skills. Hospital culture is extremely hierarchical and often highly risk averse. This helps to provide quick action and ensure safety. However, it also means that mistakes can result in punishments well beyond what fits the crime (this is true for nursing students as well). As a result, doctors and nurses are often afraid to show any weakness. This means that when they come across a patient from a different culture, they are challenged by a lack of skills on their part, but also by external pressures that prevent them from fully engaging.

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