'Cultural Competence and Clinical Expertise\r'

'To pick out the link between heathen competence and clinical expertise, their meanings should first be be. Cultural competence is defined by the US Department of Health and kind go, as â€Å"the level of knowledge based skills indispensable to provide effective clinical economic aid to uncomplainings from a particular proposition pagan or racial classify”. Furthermore, it has been qualified and classified as: â€Å"…behaviors, attitudes, and policies that scum bag fetch together on a continuum: that will determine that a system, agency, program, or individual can obligation effectively and appropriately in diverse cultural fundamental interaction and settings….” (US Department of Health and Human go website). Although there has non been star single exact definition of cultural competence in the shape of medicine in general, all(prenominal) institution that has sought- subsequently(a) to define it did so within the premise of identifying ethnic differences in the general population that the medical friendship seeks to serve.The growing ethnic change in the US population now currently at 15% averages in major urban centers (Elliott) and by 2050, at least a quarter of the elderly population (Elliott), the importance of cultural competence as it relates to clinical expertise and medical aid efficiency cannot be denied. As such, if a wellness professional is not well versed in communicating or interpreting reactions of the patient (either the patient is the oneness belong to the minority group or vice versa), the trespass on diagnosis and prognosis could be potent enough to affect the outcome of medical service provision.Different ethnic groups have their varying variation with regards their interpretation of certain illnesses or diseases and how it impacts their family and well being. Thus, if a health professional aims to be well rounded and shoot to be efficient in clinical applications, a degree of underst anding all the varied cultural differences among his/her patient population should be reached. 2. Discuss a difficult interaction you have experienced or observed that may have resulted from intercultural differences (consider that every flesh of interaction between 2 people can be considered intercultural in some sense of the word).Define the interaction and an optimal approach to resolve it. One particular experience that I can easily recover is an encounter with an elderly Filipino couple art object on duty at the local participation clinic. I wasn’t privy or awake of Filipino customs and traditions with regards to manage for the elderly in general but I assumed that equivalent most of Caucasian elderly or old communities, anybody 65 and above would be living in a senior community, or at least living independently of their adult children.When discussing the prognosis for the care of the economise’s post operative needs (he had colorectal cancer) and early symptoms of dementia, I assumed that he would be place in an elderly care skilled nursing facility. The couple, particularly the wife was etiolate even at the suggestion (or assumption) that her husband would be put away in a facility. after a lengthy discussion with the wife, and a bring home the bacon session with an adult daughter, it was only then that I came to know that Filipinos are like most due south East Asians. They have an extended family household setting.They riposte care of their elderly at home and reside everybody to participate in the care of the elderly. They cannot fathom or even begin to think of putting one of their elders in a group home or skilled nursing facility no social function how difficult the post operative care sine qua non is. The encounter with the Filipino couple and their extended family was an center opener for me. When I made the assumption that the husband will presumably be transferred from the hospital after corrective surgery, I onl y if assumed revile and simply offended the sensibilities of the wife and even the daughter.It is a lesson that I will not make over again in the future. I should have put into amity their profile more closely rather than just go over the clinical and medical aspects of the patient’s profile. In conclusion, because of our growing diversity in the US, clinicians should not only be aware of one or two ethno-cultural group but be more â€Å"culturally competent” in relations with each minority culture’s differences and how they would perhaps interpret certain prognosis and care for each patient in the family. References: Cultural competency in Action: Retrieved on may 28, 2007 from: http://convention. asha.org/2006/handouts/855_1440Mahendra_Nidhi_091029_101806104800. pdf â€Å"Cultural Competence”. (2001). Mental Health Information. Fridays Progress Notes †March 16, 2001. Vol. 5 Issue 6. Retrieved on May 28, 2007 from: http://www. athealth. com/pr actitioner/newsletter/FPN_5_6. html Elliott, V. S. (2001). Cultural competency critical in elder care. Health & Science. AMNews. Retrieved on May 28, 2007 from: http://www. ama-assn. org/amednews/2001/08/06/hll20806. htm US Department of Health and Human Services website (1994): HRSA, Bureau of Health Professions. Retrieved on May 28, 2007 from: http://bhpr. hrsa. gov/diversity/cultcomp. htm\r\n'