Benefits of Nurse-Client Cultural and Religious Congruence

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Friedman et al. make a case for the benefits of nurse-client cultural, as well as religious congruence (see Chapter 8, pp. 214 – 215). These benefits include opportunities for improved communication and increased empathy. Of course, as nurses, we will provide care to patients and families who have different cultural backgrounds, native languages, and religious beliefs from ours. It is essential that we value diversity, are aware of cultural/religious differences, strive to overcome communication barriers, and learn key information about the cultural/religious beliefs and practices of the patients and families we serve.

In your work as a professional or student nurse, provide one specific example of a challenge you faced in providing nursing care to a patient/family whose cultural background or religious beliefs were different than yours. What was the specific challenge? How did these differences impact you and your nursing care? What action(s) did you take to overcome the challenge?Describe the outcome of your interventions. Were you successful or unsuccessful in improving the nurse-patient/family working relationship? Knowing what you know now, would you have taken an alternative course of action? Why or why not?