4. Take home message

Cultural communication is not always easy to achieve, as there are many inhibitors that should be taken into consideration. However there are best practices that you can follow to empower cultural communication.

Cultural competence is an evolving process of being open minded and open hearted and appreciating diversity.

It is important to understand both your own cultural beliefs and practices, the culture of the patients and the people you are working with to resolve or decrease problems that result in misunderstandings that may arise.

When misunderstandings arise acknowledge the problem take responsibility and be empowered to bridge the gap between cultures.

Here are some take home messages of best practice, Nurses need to:

• act as a patient advocate, especially in negotiations when conflicts arises in relation to patient care due to cultural differences.
• learn about different cultures and how patients identify and express their cultural background.
• empower patients to bridge the gap between cultures.
• develop knowledge of other cultures and develop an open minded and open hearted attitude towards people from cultures different from their own.
• be aware of the uses of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques and acts in different cultures: eye contact, facial expression, body language touch and personal space and linguistics.