Applying Anthropology to Nursing
Medical Anthropology is dedicated to the relationship between human behavior, social life, and health within an anthropological context. It provides a forum for inquiring into how knowledge, meaning, livelihood, power, and resource distribution are shaped and how, in turn, these observable facts go on to shape patterns of disease, experiences of health and illness, and the organization of treatments. It focuses on many different topics including the political ecology of disease, the interface of the micro- and macro-environments that affect health, the politics of responsibility as it relates to health, gender and health, the moral, political and interpersonal contexts of bodily suffering, and the social meanings of disease categories and ideals of health. Focal points also include the cultural and historical conditions that shape medical practices and policies, the social organization of clinical interactions, and the uses and effects of medical technologies.
In applying Anthropology to the profession of nursing I would be looking into health, disease, illness, and sickness in human individuals which would be undertaken from the holistic and cross-cultural perspective. This is distinctive of anthropology as a discipline, that is, with an awareness of their biological, cultural, linguistic, and historical uniformity and variation. As a nurse I would study the health, health problems and human responses which occur as a result of life processes. Emphasis would be placed on the nursing process as a systematic method of assisting clients to attain, regain and maintain maximum functional health status.
Knowledge of cultural diversity is vital at all levels of nursing practice. It is of the utmost importance for me to remember that ethnocentric approaches to nursing practices are ineffective in meeting the health and nursing needs of diverse cultural groups of clients. Having the knowledge about cultures and their impact on interactions with health care is essential for nurses, whether they are practicing in a clinical setting, education, research or administration. Cultural diversity addresses racial and ethnic differences, however, these concepts or features of the human experience are not synonymous. The changing demographics of the nation will continue to increase the cultural diversity of the United States population and those that have up to this point in time that have been considered to be the minority will, combined, constitute a national majority.
The knowledge and skills relating to cultural diversity that I have obtained from my course in Anthropology I believe will help me to be able to strengthen and broaden the health care delivery system. Other cultures are capable of providing examples of a range of alternatives in services, delivery systems, conceptualization of illness, and treatment modalities. Cultural groups often utilize traditional health care providers, identified by and respected...