Patient Vulnerability and Patient Outcomes

Introduction

Spiritual diversity involves embracing each other’s differences in terms of beliefs. Nursing as a profession, it allows people from different backgrounds with different spiritual believes to interact and embrace each other. Nurses are expected to practice spiritual diversity since nursing care has no spiritual boundaries. Patients usually differ in terms of spiritual beliefs, but nurses are expected to embrace all of them. It is important to note that spiritual diversity helps develop a caring relationship between nurses and patients, resulting in comfort and well-being. Several researchers such as Walker & Waterworth (2017), have identified spiritual diversity as beneficial to both patients and nurses as it increases patients’ outcomes and productivity of the health care organization.

Issues Associated with Spiritual Differences

A stereotype is one of the issues that I have observed in most patients who are spiritually different. Most of the patients usually use stereotypes to make assumptions about other people. The assumptions sometimes create a poor relationship between the patient and the nurse since the patient assumes that the nurse is different and is better than them. Psychologically, patients are usually disturbed because of the stereotype since they think that maybe nurses wish them to be sick. In some cases, stereotypes slow down the healing process since one develops a psychological disability that affects the body immune system. Patients are advised to avoid stereotypes when they are sick because it negatively impacts their health (Pitriani et al., 2021). Positive stereotypes are encouraged as they create a good relationship between the nurses and patients. Nurses are taught to avoid stereotypes based on spiritual differences since they are likely to affect their nursing care.

Social Stigma and Discrimination

Social stigma is sometimes referred to as public stigma. It is associated with the stereotype of people who have psychological disabilities. Social stigma makes people feel that they are not comfortable with others because of inferiority. People with such mental complications are usually discriminated against because they are seen to be different. Social stigma and discrimination negatively impact nursing care since it destroys the relationship between patients and nurses. Nurses are usually discouraged from developing social stigma and discrimination because it is likely to make them not treat patients equally. Failure to treat patients equally goes against SDG 3 that advocates for good health and well-being (Manik et al., 2021). From personal experience, I had a patient who had developed social stigma, which made him discriminate himself because he felt uncomfortable. The social stigma and discrimination developed from spiritual differences since he was an immigrant. He failed to embrace spiritual diversity because of ignorance. It is important to note that any form of stigma affects nursing care in any given health setting.

Provision of Cultural Competency

To integrate cultural competency in providing nursing care and best practice, one has to enlighten the patients on the benefits of cultural competency. By doing so, patients will be psychologically prepared to learn how to practice cultural competence. Also, one can integrate cultural competence by encouraging all nurses to embrace all cultures without any discrimination. In this case, nurses act as a role models to the population and they are expected to show the population the importance of embracing cultural competence. Lastly, another approach that can integrate cultural competence in providing nursing care and best practice is by starting campaigns against discrimination and advocating for cultural competence. Failure to provide culturally competent care to vulnerable patients and populations results in low patient outcomes and lack of safety. Many patients are attracted to health care organizations where they get culturally competent care because they feel all valued and they are safe. The provision of culturally competent care increases patient outcomes because they feel they are safe.

References

Manik, M., Natalia, S., & Theresia, T. (2021). Social stigma towards nurses taking care of patients with COVID-19 in Indonesia: A mixed-methods study. Belitung Nursing Journal. https://doi.org/10.33546/bnj.1322

Pitriani, U., Ibrahim, K., & Pebrianti, S. (2021). Cultural competency and nursing care among Sundanese nurses ethnic group in Indonesia. Malahayati International Journal Of Nursing And Health Science, 3(2), 131-137. https://doi.org/10.33024/minh.v3i2.3634

Walker, H., & Waterworth, S. (2017). New Zealand palliative care nurses experiences of providing spiritual care to patients with life-limiting illness. International Journal Of Palliative Nursing, 23(1), 18-26. https://doi.org/10.12968/ijpn.2017.23.1.18

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Patient Vulnerability and Patient Outcomes

Week 3 Discussion 1: Patient Vulnerability and Patient Outcomes
Value: 100 points
Due: In an effort to facilitate scholarly discourse, create your initial post
by Day 3 and reply to at least two of your classmates, on two separate
days, by Day 7.
Grading Category: Discussions
Initial Post

When I was a little girl and I saw someone who looked different, talked
different or worshiped differently than my family, I would ask my mother,
“What is wrong with those people, Mommy?” My mother would usually
answer by saying, “Do not stare, they are just different.\" As I grew up, and
became more educated, I found myself asking a different question and the
answer I gave our children was “Perhaps they see us and ask, “What is
wrong with those people? They are different.\" These responses my mother
gave were linked to stigma and stereotyping of others. Stereotyping leads to
making uninformed assumptions about others. For example, nurses can
stereotype patients different than themselves through innocence and
ignorance. In this discussion we are discussing spiritual diversity. Identify
one issue you have observed while caring for a patient/person who was
spiritually different than you or a patient with physical, psychological, or an
intellectual disability. Describe one example of common stigma and shame
associated with care of persons you have observed by another healthcare
provider or yourself in care of a person who was spiritually different than
you or a patient with physical, psychological, or an intellectual disability.
Describe how you can integrate cultural competency in providing nursing
care and best practice for this population. What is the impact on patient
safety and outcomes when healthcare providers do not provide culturally
competent care to vulnerable patients and populations?
Note: This is a discussion board, and you will be posting to your student
colleagues. It is expected that all posts will be scholarly in nature and that
comments and responses will include supporting references with citations.
Reply Posts
Reply to at least two of your classmates using at least two references for
each reply. In your responses, you should compare and contrast your

experiences with differences in race, cultural background, or sexual identity
(gender identity) between you and your patient with your colleagues\'
experiences.
Please refer to the Grading Rubric for details on how this activity will be
graded.

Patient Vulnerability and Patient Outcomes