Caring for Patients

The positive aspects of this book are numerous. The author begins by discussing the problems involved with caring for patients of different races and ethnic backgrounds. On page 1, the author asks the most important question, "What happens if the health care providers do not understand why Asian patients rarely ask for pain medication and Mediterranean patients want it for the slightest discomfort", and why Middle Eastern patients will not allow a male physician to examine their women, and others will.

Ethnic diversity in America has always been regarded as a good thing, but it leads to serious problems where patients in hospitals are concerned. Culture, according to the author, means that which encompasses beliefs and behaviors that are learned and shared by members of a group (p. 2). The author also gives us the meaning of generalizations as opposed to stereotypes (p. 2). She uses many generalizations to illustrate the examples. Values is another term used frequently by the author to discuss the problems inherent in health care (p. 3). The most interesting term used here is, however, the concept of "world view". This idea is used to illustrate people's basic assumptions about the nature of reality (p. 5).

More to the point, the case-illustrations give us a clue into the nature of the problems inherent in giving health care to people

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he female's genitals are severely deformed, mainly to prevent her from enjoying sexual activity because males believe she will cheat on her husband if left to her own devices (p. 74). Childbirth is discussed at great length in the book, especially the peculiar habits of the Vietnamese people who think that spirits will come and steal the spirit of the newborn infant (p. 87) if the infant is not dressed appropriately. Since there is a large Vietnamese population in the United States at this time, this information would seem important to health care personnel who need to understand traditional Vietnamese values in order to care for, and not be shocked by, Vietnamese practices. The book discusses bathroom habits and folk medicine, both of which can be nightmares for health care personnel. Folk medicine is widely used in many ethnic cultures, and sometimes this "medicine" conflicts with American medical treatment. It is the duty of the health care personnel to understand folk medicine (according to the author) and adjust to its practice, without letting herbal cures and remedies interfere with what the doctor orders (p. 102-103). Bathroom habits, such as those arising from village culture (squatting on bedpans, for example) sh
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Carlita Ricos, Middle Eastern, Jewish Italian, Hare Krishna, Jehovahs Witnesses, Ms Galanti, Orthodox Jews, Geri-Ann Galanti, health care, care personnel, , health care personnel, folk medicine, nursing staff, caring patients, Galanti Geri-Ann, ethnic cultures, care personnel understand, women ethnic, examples encountered, care providers, laundry starch, laundry starch pregnancy, caring patients cultures,
Approximate Word count = 1999
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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