Discussion Post #2
Week Two
NURS 6513, N-5 As a nurse practitioner, one must be culturally sensitive when caring for patients. The key to cultural competence is having a sensitivity toward a person?s heritage, sexual orientation, ethnic background, and socio-economical status (Ball, Dain, Flynn, Solomon, & Stewart, 2015, p. 22). The advance practice nurse (APN) needs to be aware of the various health practices of many cultures and care for them with the understanding that economic, social, cultural, racial, & ethnicity all play a role in the health care practices of each. For the purpose of discussing cultural differences, I chose case number two, the pregnant lesbian presenting for an annual visit complaining of malodorous vaginal discharge. …show more content…
The discharge may indicate an infection such as bacterial vaginitis (BV). According to the Center for Disease Control (2013), BV causes premature birth, premature rupture of membranes, and low birth weight. Therefore, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up about the vaginal discharge are imperative. Obtaining cultures and asking about other symptoms such as vulvar itching and irritation will aid in the diagnosis of BV. A key factor in providing patient-centered and culturally sensitive care is obtaining a thorough patient history. Asking targeted questions is one way that allows the APN to obtain needed information. Some questions that one may ask this patient are:
How are you feeling today? How long have you been experiencing the vaginal discharge? What do you think is causing your symptoms? These questions will give insight for the APN to assess the health issue related to the vaginal discharge. However, the provider can also gain trust and obtain an understanding of the emotional state of this particular patient by asking questions about her pregnancy such as would you like to share the story of how you became pregnant? Are you feeling sad and overwhelmed by this