Patients are at their most vulnerable moments when receiving care. They are scared and confused, unsure of the things happening around them while trying to keep up with the new terms and treatments that they never even knew existed. It’s not easy on either end – patients put their lives in the hands of healthcare professionals and healthcare professionals take on that responsibility.
When treating patients in our communities, they come from all walks of life. Culturally competent nursing is critical to providing patients the best experience. This means when people walk through our doors, we are taking into account their social, cultural, and linguistic needs and actively treating them in a way that makes them feel safe and secure.
It’s one thing to show your support, but it’s another to actually integrate cultural competence into your practice. As frontline workers we must be the allies that the patients in our care want and need.
Here’s a few things we can do:
- Commit to being an ally: Make it a priority to support and empower your patients to the best of your abilities.
- Educate yourself and team members: Explore diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) trainings and gain a deeper understanding of the values, challenges, and needs your patients may have.
- Ask rather than assume: It’s important to be respectful and mindful of how patients identify and present themselves to the world. When introducing yourself to patients, try sharing your name, where you’re from, and your preferred pronouns as you feel comfortable. This can help signal an inclusive environment to patients. You can then ask them to share their name, where they’re from, and the pronouns they use to reference themselves.
- Avoid trends like rainbow washing: While adding a LGBTQIA+ pin to your lanyard can make people feel welcomed and safe, it all comes down to one-on-one interactions between patients and their providers.
While it isn’t necessary for healthcare professionals to have the same lived experiences as their patients, it’s valuable to have team members that understand the community. At CareRev, we connect healthcare facilities with qualified healthcare professionals at the local level to help meet patient demand and fill in for full-time team members. The professionals working with CareRev care deeply for the community because they are part of the community.
If you are a healthcare professional working with CareRev, be sure to check out the CareRev referral program to earn up to $250 for every healthcare professional you refer. Visit the CareRev app to access your referral code and link. Healthcare professionals working with CareRev also gain access to a variety of perks including a free DashPass from DoorDash and an exclusive discount on all products in the Lumify app. Take a look at our Perks for Healthcare Professionals webpage to see more offers from our premium partners.
