Introduction: We live in a global diversity where different cultures, religions, traditions and spiritual beliefs play an important role in shaping our lives. As in the United States, increasing diversity has been observed for decades and continues to expand; however, the same cannot be applied to the population of our healthcare professionals in our country. Thesis Statement: Due to the lack of parallel growth in diversity between the general population and healthcare professionals, this suggests a significant impact on healthcare delivery in which minority patients may receive culturally discordant medical care. Background: Research has shown that significant health care disparities exist between groups of patients who differ on, but not limited to, gender, race, and ethnicity. Because every culture is unique and everyone has different perspectives on healthcare, it is easy for us to misunderstand each other and formulate our unconscious biases. Health care providers' unconscious bias toward a particular culture can lead to ineffective cross-cultural health services. Therefore, knowing who we are and where we are, as well as a person's cultural frame of reference, are important for understanding the person as well as reducing cultural discordance in health care settings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayCampinha – Bacote's Cultural Competence ModelEvidence and Citations: According to Kelly (2014), cultural diversity goes beyond definition of traditions, customs and practices. , beliefs and values ​​of various groups. Other faces and subcultures include thoughts, language, professional or professional affiliations, nationality or race, age groups, gender, socio-economic factors, sexual orientation, viewpoints policies, etc. Topic Sentence: With knowledge of increasing cultural diversity and long-standing health disparities within diverse groups, it is important for us to provide and practice care that is culturally competent and consistent with the cultural needs of patients . Evidence and Citations: The Campinha-Bacote model of cultural competence, which includes the integration of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skills, cultural encounters, and cultural desire, provides a framework for developing and implementing culturally competent health services in which health care providers continually strive to acquire the ability to work effectively within the cultural context of the patient. Topic sentence: One of the main constructs of the Campinha-Bacote model of cultural competence is cultural awareness, which is “self-examination and in-depth exploration of one's own cultural and professional context” (Campinha-Bacote, 2002). Evidence and Citations: Cultural awareness is necessary for every nurse because it could help guide decision-making, become more open to new experiences, and learn from interactions with others. Comment: Additionally, as the United States population becomes extremely diverse, largely due to immigrants arriving in past generations, registered nurses, on the other hand, are not as racially and ethnically diverse as the population of the country. Evidence and citation: According to Moore and Continelli (2016),nurses in the United States are predominantly white. In 2008, the primary population of nurses was estimated to be "83.2% white (compared to 65.6% of the U.S. population), 5.4% black (compared to 12.2% of the U.S. population), 3 .6% Hispanics (compared to 15.4% of the population). ) and 5.8 percent Asian (compared to 4.5 percent of the population)” (Moore and Continelli, 2016). These numbers clearly show that racial discordance in medical care is widespread: 15.4% of the U.S. population is Hispanic, while only 3.6% of nurses are Hispanic. Comment: Thus, the need for culturally competent nurses cannot be overemphasized. While not culturally competent, culturally discordant care arises from unaccounted for cultural differences between nurses and their patients. Topic Sentence: As a nursing student, I also need to practice cultural competence. This is an ongoing process, meaning I must continue to learn and implement throughout my nursing career. Comment: So, before caring for a patient whose culture is different from mine, it is essential for me, as a nursing student, to examine my own cultural identity and biases in order to avoid cultural imposition and to better understand my patients. Evidence and Citation: For me, I identified as a foreign-born Vietnamese woman whose culture is largely based on traditional values ​​taken from my home country. I value my family and friends, my education, my spiritual beliefs and my success. Topic Sentence: An elderly Vietnamese patient who has low literacy, especially if they do not understand English, often presents a challenge for me. I worked in a medical office where the majority of patients are elderly Vietnamese. As is ingrained in their culture, the older generation of Vietnamese often underestimate the importance of their illness and place great importance on appearing healthy and active, known as maintaining "face." Because of this belief, it prevents them from understanding the need for health care and makes them less likely to seek it when they need it. Additionally, the majority of them also have limited English proficiency, making it difficult to understand their medical diagnoses, medications, and treatment options, and leading them to face barriers to treatment. access to health care, such as poor access to health services and less favorable access to health care. results. I have repeatedly encountered patients who refused to take their blood pressure and cholesterol medications because they thought they were fine and the medications were toxic to them. Evidence and Citation: I had a story from a female patient who was around 50 years old. She had a history of medical noncompliance and did not take her medications as prescribed. One day, when she came for her routine checkup at the doctor, she complained of severe headache, blurred vision, and her systolic blood pressure was above 200 mmHg and her blood pressure diastolic was greater than 100 mmHg. Based on the initial evaluation and her recent hospitalization due to severe hypertension, the doctor recommended she go to the emergency room for further diagnostic workup. However, the patient refused because she was afraid of hospitals and did not see the need for emergency care at the moment. She said the last time she was admitted it cost her a lot of money for a simple transfusion.