I Am An African American Woman Born - 1798 Words

I am an African American woman born in raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I lived in the inner city of Milwaukee until I was about eight years old, and shortly after we moved to the Village of River Hills. My mother grew up in the city of Milwaukee also. My father grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and moved to Wisconsin when he was ten years old. Growing up, I traveled from Milwaukee to Mississippi at least seven times a year. Initally, while visiting it was a culture shock for me. My grandmother drove the School bus and lived on a farm. She had many horses as pets and as a means for transportation. In Mississippi I l learned that is was not ok to call adults by there first name and it is a sign of disrespect and it is rude to not look at a†¦show more content†¦I understand it is essential that I become aware of my own cultural background to effectively provide the best care to my patients. A nurse cannot provide appropriate cultural care without having knowledge and a basic u nderstanding of cultural competency. What I’ve learned about myself after reflecting upon practices, values, and biases After taking the cultural competence self-test assessment from the intercultural engagement resource, I feel that I am more culturally competent than most but I still have more learning to do. This assessment helped me realize my place on the trajectory to being cultural competent. I am a strong believer that people are more receptive to their own culture, so I try to adapt to other cultures by learning things about it. I never intentionally try to impose my values on anyone that may be inconsistent with their culture. By taking care of patients from different cultures, it opened my eyes and made me realize medical attention and health education varies amongst different cultures. After taking the survey I also learned to be a culturally competent nurse, I must not show any bias to my own culture. The assessment helped me examine my own biases and prejudices toward my own cultures and others. This assessment also helped me identify areas in which I need to improve to provide quality services to diverse