[Music] hello everyone it's dr david from doctorregisternerds.com thank you for subscribing to this channel today i wanted to make a special video regarding cultural diversity and racism as healthcare providers we are deemed with the task of caring for all patients regardless of ethnicity their race or even language that they speak and as you know this is the land of the free the land where everyone is welcome and with that comes different cultures for example we have people migrate here from the caribbean like i am from the dominican republic so i came here at the age of six and i only knew spanish so i had to learn english in order to be like when i was in school uh in order to be able to understand everyone because english is the primary language of the united states although we have so many others because we have so many individuals that come from many many countries and that's what makes a place great that diversity however as you know we have faced so long with people that are might not be accepting of others racism is a true thing and we see this every single day wherever we go for example i experienced a couple of years ago my first incident of racism where i got called a very bad name um and i was in in my car and my daughter was in my car and i was like very shocked but then i realized that so many individuals go through this every single day of their lives so it's something that is real and as you can see the current protest is evident with um all the uh police brutality that is happening uh with certain individuals where you know it's so sad to see um doing nothing and things happen to them and it's unfortunate but i'm so glad that we have peaceful protesters that are trying to get that message across that racism is not okay and treating others differently because of race ethnicity or culture is not okay either so as healthcare providers we have to make sure that we are super sensitive to those issues we are going to care for hispanic individuals asian individuals african-american caucasian all different types of individuals so we have to be sensitive to the fact that they have their own customs and beliefs so when you're caring for your patients if you have a patient for example that's spanish speaking only my first language is spanish and my mom speaks spanish she doesn't speak english and she's been here for many many years so i always put myself in the situation where if that was my mom laying on that bed how i want her to be treated and that is exactly how you should treat all the patients that you care for if the patient does not know the language the hospitals have an interpreter line which makes the conversation better between your patients and yourself because you want to understand what their needs are and you also have to be sensitive to the fact that some cultures have a tendency of always nodding yes and i'm sure that you've learned this so is it are they saying yes because they understand what you're saying or are they saying yes because they're trying to show respect and in many of those cases is because one they might not understand what you're saying and two in some cultures not in yes when they are taught speaking with an authority figure like a physician a registered nurse a physical therapist someone that has a level of education they are accustomed or brought up or raised by nodding yes but does that truly mean they understand no so we have to make sure that we provide these services needed in order for them to receive appropriate health care appropriate care from us as nurses as physicians as nurse practitioners as physical therapists as any type of health care provider we have to make sure that we're treating everyone equally to the highest level of care because when we when when they leave when they get discharged we want them to have a positive patient experience we want them that if they need to come back to this healthcare facility that they do that they say you know what i love that excellent care that i received i felt special even though i know that they were caring for so many other patients there was not one minute that i felt that they were rushing or that they felt that they made me feel any less than what i am so it is super important that you take everybody's culture and beliefs into account when caring for your patient for example when you're doing a patient admission make sure you ask them are there any cultural beliefs that may affect the way that we care for you are there any food restrictions that you you that you hold for example there are some religions where they can eat pork so that is super important for you to assess during that admission because you want to make sure that that those that patients religious beliefs are respected if the patient does not know english and their primary language is spanish it is very important that you activate that interpreter line and make sure that they understand everything that is being said and when you are using interpreter services make sure that you as the nurse or nursing student or health care provider are looking at your patient having a conversation with your patient because an interpreter if they are physically present are going to be translating what you are saying so think of them as a voice over while you are having a conversation with your patient while you are having what you are looking at your patients having that eye contact so that they can feel that is a personalized experience other times you may have an interpreter via a telephone so when that is happening the patient has one line in one ear and you have the other but at the same time you want to have that eye contact because there it becomes impersonal if you're just holding the phone looking another way and your patient is that way so if you're actually looking at them it is a seamless conversation and you are able to know if your patient understands the instructions that are being given or is answering the questions adequately that you're asking for example if you're doing a pain assessment if you're trying to listen to the breath sounds it is super important for you to understand that although they might not speak the language you speak then we need to provide the services that are given to us that are provided to us in order for for them to feel comfortable and for them to trust that the care that they are receiving is optimal again you're going to experience many different things when you are working in a hospital setting in a rehab setting in an office setting but the most important thing is that you have to leave your biases at the door you cannot come in the hospital believing that the patient has to conform to your beliefs to your practices to your custom in order for us to be accepting of other people's cultures and religious preferences or sexual preferences we have to make sure that our own beliefs and our own preferences are not interfering with the care that we are providing to these patients so what does it mean to provide culturally competent care according to the american academy of nursing culturally competent care is a complex integration of knowledge attitudes and skills that extend across cultural lines you need to be sensitive to issues related to culture race religion gender sexual orientation and social or economic class we want to be sensitive to what they believe and also make sure that we are providing them optimal care there are a lot of times when certain individuals let's say a healthcare provider might have their own beliefs and customs and they face a conflict when taking care of patients and if that is one of you that's fine that you recognize that because at that point you can talk to a charged nurse or a manager and say you know i am very conflicted because i believe this and my patient believes that and i don't feel comfortable caring for this patient i want to make sure that i provide them a hundred percent of quality optimal care but i feel that my own beliefs are in the way of that and guess what a lot of times they will reassign that patient to someone else so don't be scared to voice that to the appropriate person because that is what we want you to do we want you to feel comfortable and we want that patient to get a hundred percent optimal care but that can't happen if you have your own beliefs and aren't unable to detach from them while you are working and caring for other people you need to be sensitive to issues related to culture race religion gender sexual orientation and social or economic class i totally support the peaceful protests that are happening due to so much brutality that is happening in in in this country as long as it is peaceful but i know that we're getting the messages across you know there's a lot of movements that are happening that you know every time i see that on television i'm just happy because i think that now the voices will be heard and i consider myself part of the culture of cultural diversity of this country as i said i wasn't born in this country i was born in the dominican republic and i migrated here at the age of six and my entire family you know i've raised them here they were born here and i have felt um the disconnect at times when someone's caring for me and that's not something that i would ever have another person feel because it feels horrible when you're being treated differently it's it's like something i can't explain um you feel like you're below others and that's not a feeling that it's a good thing to have because it can play a role in that patient's self-esteem and how that patient feels if they suffer from depression they can get worse so we want to always make sure we have a smile when we're caring for our patients and that we truly dedicate time to them and not have you know not rush through these assessments not you know trying to um don't show the patient that you're just trying to complete a task give them that attention sit next to them you know if you have to hold their hand because they're going through something hold their hand it's okay try to give them that personalized attention because a lot of individuals that come to this country already feel inferior and the last thing we need is when caring for these patients that they continue to feel this way their art hair so what are some cultural assessment questions you can ask your patient the first what is your primary language how would you describe your cultural background are there any special healthcare practices within your culture that address your particular mental or emotional health problem are there any special foods that you eat what are the attitudes toward mental illness in your culture what do you do to get better when you have physical problems are there any special culture beliefs about your illness that might help me give you better care who do you seek when you are medically ill mentally upset or concerned these are all valid questions that will allow you to provide culturally competent care mental health is also another part that you need to take into account when caring with for these patients because they might be going through so much think about those families that have lost their loved ones due to brutality in the recent days how do they feel how is how are their emotions will they even trust a authority figure that's maybe in the police department or in healthcare we don't know and i doubt that they too so how can we make them feel better so always come in knowing that you're going to be taking care of so many individuals and everyone should be treated the same and make sure that you're providing that 100 percent optimal care that's going to allow that patient to feel great about themselves to want to come back because you provided such good care and they felt such equal to you that they want to be here that they want to be under the care of wherever you decide to work in so again always look at the different cultures beliefs religions and respect them because individuals you know expect that from you they shouldn't be pushed into believing other things or um they shouldn't feel less they shouldn't feel that they don't understand something you're explaining because maybe an interpreter wasn't provided but most importantly they want to feel that you care for them and that you're not seeing them as someone else that's inferior to you you know you're their greatest cheerleader because you want them to get better you want them to get healthy from personal experience i've faced the racism and the disparities that are happening in this country and honestly like i was depressed for like three weeks after that um and but i got over it because i said you know what there are so many other individuals that are great that um shows respect and that are accepting of everyone that it basically dumps that one person that made me feel for three weeks like i was no one so we can do better think of it as every day you're gonna get up and you're gonna give the best of yourself be positive make someone smile you know have them feel loved because honestly humanity cannot survive without that as you see the disparities are causing a major division in this country so we need to come together as a nation and say how can i make someone's day better today how can i make someone say you know what this was like one of the best days of my life and remember avoid stereotyping one size does not fit all i am so appreciative for you watching this video if you have any questions make sure you put them down below in the comment section like this video and share with all your friends and family we need to think about positive thoughts every day positivity positivity positivity the more positivity you put out in the world the more positivity they will exist and that will come back to you thank you again don't forget to subscribe to this channel bye [Music] you