This week's blog post question states: To what extent do my beliefs, prejudices, or biases influence my thinking in terms of providing services in my profession or work? After reading this question, I immediately thought that I don't let any biases or beliefs affect how I work. However, I was quickly proven wrong after taking The Provider's Guide to Quality & Culture quiz. There are so many things that I didn't know about various cultures that really could help me better understand so many people. Today, I'm going to go over a few of the quiz questions and answers that I found most interesting to me.
The first question I'm going to address is, "Out of respect for the patients privacy, the provider should always begin a relationship by seeing an adult patient alone and drawing the family in as needed."
My response to this question was true. However, the correct answer is false. According to The Providers Guide to Quality & Culture, "In many of the world's cultures, an individuals health problems are also considered the family's problems, and it is considered threatening to exclude family members from any medical interaction." This was a cultural concept that I definitely wasn't aware of. However, I am aware that regardless of how close the family is to the patient, a family member should never be used as a translator.
Another question that I found interesting is, "A really conscientious health provider can eliminate his or her own
prejudices or negative assumptions about certain types of patients."
My response to this question was also true, but the correct answer is false. Once again, The Providers Guide to Quality & Culture states, "Unfounded assumptions
that lead to prejudicial thoughts usually exist below the level of our
awareness. They are often untested and unexamined, yet they shape how we
act." What this means to me is that prejudice and biased thoughts are always going to be there. It is the health care providers job to examine these thoughts and create new images of the patients. This concept seems very difficult and is still something that I find confusing.
The last question I'm going to discuss is, "When taking a medical history from a patient with a limited ability to speak English, which of the following is LEAST useful?"
I put that the least useful would be asking the patient to describe his or hers descriptions and beliefs about health and illness. I thought it was this answer because it seems difficult to ask a patient who speaks little English to be able to describe their illness. However, the correct answer was avoiding yes and no questions. I understand this better now. Yes and no questions are very vague, and the patient could easily get the two mixed up. Not only that, but it doesn't give a health care provider a good idea about the patients medical history.
Overall, I'm glad I had the opportunity to take this quiz. Although I didn't think I let biases influence me, it was clear to see that there was a lot of information about various cultures that I wasn't aware of. Knowing this type of information will only help me even more while providing services at work.
The Provider's Guide to Quality & Culture. Retrieved
February 18, 2015, from
http://erc.msh.org/mainpage.cfm?file=1.0.htm&module=provider&language=English
