HELP with Critical Thinking Assignment

rn/writer, RN · Sep 7, 2009

Critical thinking is the buzzword (buzzwords, actually) for using your mind to examine what you know about a given subject, asking yourself how to apply your current knowledge, determining what might still be missing, and deciding how to acquire and apply any new information.

In this case, start with the basics. What cultural and religious beliefs and practices do you already know of? Think of things like diet, holy days (Sabbath), definition of death, organ transplantation, contraceptives, use of medication, herbal remedies, vaccinations, alternative medicine and practitioners, and definition of "close" family members. It's a long, long list.

Google different religions and their stance on some of these issues. Do the same for ethnicity and culture. It would probably be good if you could actually talk to someone of another nationality or spiritual belief and ask about ways their heritage may have influenced their health and health care. Keep in mind that not everyone of a specific religion or culture interprets things the same way or adheres to the typical practices at the same level.

Once you have this raw data to work with, ask yourself how a specific belief or tradition might play a role in a patient's experience.

Several fairly well-known examples--

Jehovah's Witnesses, for the most part, will not consent to receiving blood products.

The women of some religions keep their hair covered and are generally not allowed to be examined by male practitioners.

Most Orthodox Jews keep kosher and will either need to be supplied with certified kosher trays or bring their own food from home.

Many Asian women prefer warm/hot drinking water following childbirth to restore the "heat" lost through childbirth.

Things to remember:

As I said earlier, not every member of every group applies their beliefs and customs consistently. For that reason, it's important to keep the possibilities in mind, but ask each individual about their own practices and preferences.

Some patients will not possess a whole-hearted belief in a particular action, but they do it, nevertheless, out of respect for family members or just from habit and tradition.

It's often good to ask the reason behind the way a certain thing is done or not done. This demonstrates respect and is a great learning opportunity. Many times, there is wisdom in an ancient custom that correlates to modern science. Even when there isn't a connection, you validate your patient's worth by listening to their thoughts and wishes.

At times, listening may not mean agreeing or cooperating with. There may be customs and circumstances that conflict with optimum patient care from a medical point of view. The nurse, then, has the important task of helping the patient to weigh the choices. Perhaps both the medical needs and the traditions can be fulfilled. But if not, the patient has to count the cost of choosing one over the other.

Jehovah's Witnesses usually make it clear that even if the refusal of blood products could lead to death, they will not change their minds. But most rabbis will accept the necessity of life- or limb-saving surgery performed on the Sabbath.

Communication and respect are key in these exchanges. And lest you think that this relates only to "other" cultures, these same principles can be used with patients who have OCD (a challenging belief system if ever there was one), people who are extremely superstitious, and rabid football fans who don't want surgery on a game day. Each of these is a "culture" all it's own.

rokusan · Sep 8, 2009

thank you for your input! It helped me get on track with my assignment.