Seminar assignments - The spirit catches you book reflection PDF

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The Spirit Catches You book reflection...

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Cultural Competency in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was an eye-opening novel that related well with culturally competency and the assignments taken in this course. Lia and her families’ experience in the United States with the healthcare system unfortunately happens to many people across the nation and it utters the importance of cultural competence in our healthcare system. Because of the families Hmong culture, they had many different views of people and the physicians caring for Lia seemed to not care as much to explain further to her parents and they definitely had a communication barrier. The hospital that I interned with, Mount Carmel St. Ann’s had chaplains within their spiritual services who work with all patients of all religions. I think it should have been a priority for MCMC to thoroughly learn about the Hmong culture to better serve their patients since there was such a huge population of them in that area. Physicians want to provide for patients and do the right thing but the fact that Lia’s medical needs were very complex and at times her parents could not deal with it, she was placed in social services. This would be extremely hard to deal with especially when the Lees have trouble understanding because they just believe that the doctor knows what to do so they just agree. I do not think that it was fair for Lia to be put in social services, I think that with a better healthcare team that this would not have happened. One character that stood out to me was Lia’s case worker Jeanine. Jeanine did everything that she could to ensure that Lia would be back with her parents quickly. She educated Lia’s parents greatly and helped them out and I think that if she had not passed away that she would have continued to help the family. Another person I think that stood out was Dan Murphy. He knew a lot about the Hmong and their culture which is so important and he also discovered that Lia’s illness was epilepsy. Dan really showed what it takes to be a culturally competent healthcare provider and truly helped in Lia’s case.

In some ways I think that Lia’s parents trusted the healthcare team because they had to. They had little means of communication with them and whatever the physicians said they for the most part agreed with. The Hmong culture is very unique and it was annoying that Neil Ernst and his wife, Peggy Philip did not seem to care much about the culture of the Lee’s and what the Hmong culture is all about. I do think that they lost a huge amount of trust with the healthcare team when Lia was taken into custody but then when meeting Dan I think that there worries were eased a little because he knew so much about their culture and was very passionate about helping them and their daughter. The biggest barrier I saw in the novel was communication. Communication is one of the most important factors in healthcare because if you cannot communicate with your patients effectively then you will be in trouble. It can be extremely vulnerable for patients who may have a hard time interacting with their healthcare team. I know that if I went to a doctor and he/she was poking me with a needle or giving me tests and I did not understand why I would be very confused and scared. I cannot imagine being in a situation like the Lee family was put through. It is important for hospitals and health organizations everywhere to have translators and people who educate themselves on many different cultures and religions. One example that really stood out to me when comparing Lia and her families’ experiences with projects in this class was one of the interview assignments that we did. The fact that Paa and his wife were from a different country and some of their norms and rituals were not carried over to the United States simply because they had no access to the things they were used to related to the Lees. Paa also talked about how the physicians and nurses did not fully explain some things when his wife was giving birth and it worried his wife which I know also occurred

in the Lee’s experience. I though many scenarios that we did in class could definitely relate to Lia and her families experience of cultural competence. It is crucial to have a culturally competent healthcare team in every healthcare organization. Patients come from many diverse backgrounds and healthcare professionals should be able to interact and treat everyone with respect. A lot of times there can be communication barriers but knowing how to deal with these barriers is necessary for hospitals and health organizations to succeed. A huge factor in healthcare is patient satisfaction and if patients are not satisfied with the care they receive they will not want to return. It is highly important for healthcare organizations to hire on a staff that is diverse so that all patients’ needs are met and that they understand the care they are receiving. In the book, Foua could not read or write and she basically agreed to whatever doctors would tell her because that’s what she thought she was supposed to do. Many patients today may too not be able to read and write so it is so significant for physicians, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team to thoroughly explain to ensure understanding. If Lia’s healthcare team was as passionate as Dan was with her care then maybe she would have never been in some of the situations that she has been and struggled through. These situations impacted her parents greatly and by having the barrier of communication struggles occurred. By finding a healthcare provider so determined to find out what is wrong with you and so educated on your culture you know that you will be taken good care of. I think that every healthcare professional or future healthcare professional should read this book to open their eyes on some of the situations that do occur in the medical world. This story was very impactful for a future healthcare professional as myself. Cultural competency should be a huge focus in healthcare today because everyone is different. Not

everyone speaks English in the United States and I think most people forget that. There are so many languages and cultures in the United States today and it is necessary for us to realize this. Hospitals and health organizations should have conferences annually to speak about the importance of being a culturally competent organization and what to do in difficult situations. This class expanded my knowledge on cultural competency and I am very grateful to have learned about the Lee’s and their experience in the healthcare system today. Cultural competency should be acknowledged so families don’t have to struggle when they need care....