How Ethnocentrism and Stereotyping Influence Nursing Practice in Terms of Biomedical Model

Have you ever stopped to think about how you would address the pain and what kind of words you would use to ask people who are from different cultures and have dissimilar thinking with you about their symptoms? In addition, how would you respond to that person's description of their pain experience? Nowadays, every country becomes culturally multiple and various. This diversity has encouraged healthcare professionals with the need to provide more culturally consistent care. Understanding signals of pain in divergent cultures is therefore mandatory to evoke appropriate behaviors and responses. For nurses, it is their responsibility to respond pertinently to the cues of pain in our clients and patients. Nurses also need to comprehend how pain is perceived in the patient’s culture. In this essay, I want to state that how Chinese treat and regard their pain, how ethnocentrism, and stereotyping will influence nursing practice in terms of biomedical model. Also, I like to explain how nurses get over these challenges and how my own perceptions will affect to support clients.

Most Asian countries have their own medicine techniques and different treatments. Some of them has been recognized as method to promote health care. For instance, China has the traditional medicine techniques which are Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Tui Na Massage and Cupping/Scraping. Most of them still have been took effect in China. One of the most popular techniques is that Cupping/Scraping consists of placing several glass cups and drawing blood. Chines people consider that what causes ‘pain’ worse and worse mainly is the blood. They believe that one of the specific reasons why people are getting sick as they are getting old is that lots of thick blood which causes slow metabolism and blood flow. They also insist taking antibiotics or any drugs will be helpful but they are temporary. That is why they do not prefer to suggest having the biomedical model we use in the west. In other words, getting rid of extra wasted blood which interrupts the flood in blood vessels helps heart and many organs to provide clean blood and Oxygen. Then, they can surely treat their pain, disease, and keep their body healthy. Moreover, Chinese society is based on Confucianism which encourages social harmony and values families. Chinese people conclude that either physical or psychological pain is a family event instead of individual event. Asking acquaintance who is from outside the family for help by revealing family’s matters is considered a loss of face. A loss of face results in suffering disgrace to the individual and their family members. Additionally, many Chinese people are especially reluctant to examine suffering because of the belief that talking about the any problem that they have to someone do not have any relationship with family will occur everyone in the family to lose face, which is quite probable for health providers to decide and assess the patient’s pain accurately. For nurses, it is significant to deal with people who have ethnocentrism and stereotyping to figure out and provide not only the patient’s pain exactly but also sensitive care. For Chinese people, the Cupping/Scraping is the best way to live to a great age by removing detrimental blood in the body in place of taking drugs until you are getting better than before. Due to the nature of Confucianism in China, people tend to refrain from expressing their pain. On the other hand, people come from west country claim that the biomedical model is the model we adopt is the only right way to heal and prevent pain. People from west area do not believe that disease has a physical cause so if you get rid of the physical cause, you get rid of the illness. Likewise, it takes into consideration other factors such as stress and society that could affect health as well. The biomedical model is the dominant medical ideology in the west but it often disregards alternative and holistic practices of medicine and stigmatizes them as illegitimate. As nurses, we should be able to realize the needs of patients of other cultures based on their experiences of their health and description. Nurses have to handle different ways of approaching health.

These kinds of conflicts above the paragraph will be challenged for nurses whose vision and perspective is oriented to the fitness and well-being of all people. How do we overcome these challenges? Since novice nurses often fail to explain when faced with such conflicts with patients regarding to different culture and thinking, it will be helpful as they are constantly trained on how to use medicines and create an atmosphere where patients can be informed and answered when they are asked so that they can ask questions at any time. Also, the nurses try to change their mind about the patient, increasing their interests in the patients. Because they are going to continue to deal with same patients during their shift, they are going to reduce the repetition of this situation by increasing their interest in patients. I personally could understand that clinical nurse-patient communication performed for clinical decision making, providing patient education and emotional support. Prepared nurse communicate with patient more effectively, eventually can establish more trust relationship with patient. Also, my own perceptions will affect to support my client.

To build evidence-based cultural care with research studies addressing areas requiring cultural knowledge identified in the workshops held as part of the educational program. Through these recommendations’ steps can be taken in the clinical setting that have the potential to develop transcultural nursing practice. This will be enabling nurses to position themselves to provide more culturally congruent care to each patient from a diverse cultural background within a culturally friendly hospital.