This course has been approved for 6 clock hours by the Commission on Case Manager Certification from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008.

The goal of this program is to help nurses become culturally competent by raising their awareness and understanding about cultural issues in their work environment and professional practice, including special areas such as pain management, women's health, and mental health.

After you study this information, you will be able to -

• Define cultural competence.
• Identify barriers that inhibit the provision of culturally competent nursing care.
• Describe the components of a personal action plan for becoming culturally competent.
• Understand the need for enhanced communication skills across language barriers.
• Describe strategies for improving direct nurse-patient communication and effective use of interpreters.
• Describe how culture can influence a patient's expression of pain and pain tolerance.
• Discuss how cultural background affects a nurse's response to and management of pain.
• Relate strategies for identifying and responding to a patient's pain in a culturally appropriate manner.
• Describe cultural influences on women's health beliefs and practices.
• Discuss how to work within the framework of cultural and folk beliefs that may interact with common preventive care for women.
• Recognize a variety of ethnic and cultural beliefs and practices related to childbearing and family.
• Identify needs unique to nontraditional families.
• Describe four cultural values underlying mental health nursing and how these may not fit the cultural norms of less dominant cultural groups in a diverse population.
• Discuss the conceptual basis and examples of culture-bound syndromes.
• Identify supportive nursing actions to give mental health care that is culturally appropriate to the patient.
• Explain characteristics of the increasingly diverse workplace.
• Describe how cultural differences in work patterns and communication styles influence the nursing environment.
• Identify person- and organization-centered strategies for working effectively within a diverse environment.