nursing

1. Cultural and Ethical
Issues in Practice
Gabriella McCarty RN, MSN, NP-C
NUR9520
Dr. Jill Matthes Baxter
April 2024

2. What is culture?
• Values
• Attitudes
• Behaviors
• Customs
• Traditions
These are learned and shared by a group of people
and inherited from generation to generation

3. Cultural Sensitivity in Healthcare: why is it
important?
Globalization gave rise to living and taking care of
people with diverse cultural, religious and ethnic
backgrounds.
Cultural Sensitivity:
• Improves quality of care
• Improves communication and trust
• Decreases health inequity
• Promotes patient-centric care
• Decreases errors
• Decreases legal and ethical dilemmas
Nurses have an important role in reducing healthcare
disparities.
There are
validated tools
used to
measure
cultural
sensitivity

4. Cultural beliefs and practices that may impact
health: things to think about!
• Different cultures hold unique beliefs about sickness,
health and healing
• Traditional healing practices
• Dietary preferences and taboos
• Family decision making
• Language barriers
• Attitudes towards medical treatment
• Stigmas
• End of life beliefs
Development of moral sensitivity/ moral decision-
making is essential in nursing students (framework of
moral awareness, name and frame moral issues, and
moral reasoning ability)

5. Overcoming Barriers
• Healthcare training on cultural competency
• Community involvement
• Language interpreter services
• Health literacy initiatives
• Tailored healthcare
• Address social determinants of healthcare
• Promote health equity
• Advocate for policy change

6. Nursing Code of Ethics
Provision 1 The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person.
Provision 2 The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, community, or population.
Provision 3 The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.
Provision 4 The nurse has authority, accountability, and responsibility for nursing practice; makes decisions; and takes action consistent with the obligation to provide
optimal patient care.
Provision 5 The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and safety, preserve wholeness of character and integrity,
maintain competence, and continue personal and professional growth.
Provision 6 The nurse, through individual and collective effort, establishes, maintains, and improves the ethical environment of the work setting and conditions of
employment that are conducive to safe, quality health care.
Provision 7 The nurse, in all roles and settings, advances the profession through research and scholarly inquiry, professional standards development, and the generation of
both nursing and health policy.
Provision 8 The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities.
Provision 9 The profession of nursing, collectively through its professional organization, must articulate nursing values, maintain the integrity of the profession, and integrate
principles of social justice into nursing and health policy.
Ethical decision-making is essential for DNPs to meet their professional obligations, deliver exceptional care,
and maintain confidence and trust of patients.

7. Belmont Report Key Points
Respect for Persons Beneficence Justice

8. DNP role in ethics
• Adherence to ethical guidelines
• Informed consent
• Confidentiality
• Cultural competence
• Transparency
• Leadership
• Reflection

9. Conclusion
In summary, cultural competence in nursing elevates patient
satisfaction, improves health outcomes, and reduces health
disparities.
In this dynamic healthcare environment, it is important for nurses to
continue ongoing education and training in cultural competency.

10. References
• American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics with interpretative
statements. Silver Spring, MD: Author. Retrieved from
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/Codeof
EthicsforNurses/Code-ofEthics-For-Nurses.html
• Aksoy, N., & Akkoç, M. G. (2020). Intercultural Sensitivity Levels and Cultural
Difference Perceptions of Physicians and Nurses. Florence Nightingale
journal of nursing, 28(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.26650/FNJN18002
• Spekkink, A., & Jacobs, G. (2021). The development of moral sensitivity of
nursing students: A scoping review. Nursing Ethics, 28 (5), 791-808.
doi:10.1177/0969733020972450
• Tanaka, H., & Arakida, M. (2024). The Development and Psychometric Testing
of the Scale of Cultural Sensitivity of Health Care Professionals in Japan.
Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 35(2), 161-176.
doi:10.1177/10436596231217688