Seeing how many different cultures are represented in the nursing environment is amazing. Although being this diverse can come with drawbacks, both in the relationships with patients and coworkers. There is no way to know if one patients or coworkers culture is different than your own. That means that every interaction you have needs to be carefully acted upon. Things like handshakes can be seen as acts of aggression. In western culture, a handshake is pretty commonplace. You extend your hand, look the person in the eye, and firmly but confidently shake their hand. In Chinese or Japanese cultures, a softer handshake is the norm. It is no indication of how assertive one has to be. Also in Japanese cultures, a bow is the typical greeting. Handshakes are not normally used when meeting someone. Other things like eye contact could be taken the wrong way. For example, in countries like Japan, Mexico, and Great Britain, prolonged eye contact is not typical. In Japan it is considered an invasion of privacy. In Mexico it is considered aggressive and threatening. In Great Britain it is just not used. In other countries however, eye contact is taken very seriously. In France, it is not uncommon to feel like you are being stared at. Another key thing to understand is personal boundaries. Moving away or closer to someone during a conversation can be taken the wrong way. Some cultures around the world have given more notice to the individual's privacy rather than a groups. Normally in the United States, three feet is a comfortable distance between two people who are speaking. In countries like Japan and Great Britain, a wider distance is usually the norm. In countries like Italy, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, the distance is even closer than three feet.
The basic point is that in any situation, whether it be in the healthcare environment or in public, you just don’t know what a