Critical Reflection Develop Cultural Intelligence

Question: why Cultural Self-Awareness is Important to Develop Cultural Intelligence? Answer: Introduction Australia is a large nation that is made up of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. The healthcare professionals have a challenge of delivering healthcare services to all the patients irrespective of their diversities. It is necessary to serve all the people because diversity should never be used to discriminate upon people. It should be celebrated and used as a unifying factor for all the people. Healthcare equity dictates that everyone should be served no matter their differences. To accomplish this, the healthcare providers should be equipped with excellent cultural awareness and intelligence skills. The healthcare providers should take appropriate measures to deliver culturally-competent services to the patients. The purpose of this paper is to present a crucial reflection of the concept of cultural awareness and cultural intelligence. It alludes to the Hindu philosophy and customs in explaining how cultural self-awareness influences the development of cultural intelligence in health care. How and Why Cultural Self-Awareness is Important to Develop Cultural Intelligence Cultural awareness refers to the ability of an individual to know or have knowledge about the cultural values, traditions, beliefs, customs, practices, language, and religion in the society. Cultural awareness entails two things. First, it entails the knowledge of ones own culture. A culturally-conscious person knows much about the cultural values of his or her own community. It is necessary to do so because each person is affiliated to a certain cultural origin (Hunt, et al., 2015). For example, if one is affiliated to a certain religion, one will engage in the practices and traditions of that particular religion. This is why my Hindu religion has greatly influenced by worldview and beliefs towards health care. Besides, a culturally-conscious person should be aware of the cultural values of other communities. On the other hand, cultural intelligence is the ability of a person to interact and adapt to a different culture. Cultural intelligence is an essential skill that should be acquired by every person because of the diverse nature of the society. When a person is born, it becomes inevitable to live with people who hold different cultural values. However, to foster a good understanding, it is important to appreciate and tolerate all the cultural values no matter how conflicting or complicated they might be (Renzaho, et al., 2013). As an individual, I am aware of and appreciate my Hindu culture because it has defined whom I am. It is true that cultural self-awareness is important in developing cultural intelligence in the society. First and foremost, cultural awareness can enable an individual to be aware of his or her own identity. Self-awareness is a fundamental skill that should be possessed by everyone (Grant, Parry Guerin, 2013). It can enable a person to know the real identity, uniqueness, strengths, and weaknesses. It is therefore an important skill that should be acquired by all the healthcare professionals because it can prepare them to be competent in their duties (Truong, Paradies Priest, 2014). As a professional, I need to be aware of my own Hindu origin which forms the basis of my philosophy. It means a lot to me because without it, I cannot be who I am. The knowledge of my Hindu culture has enabled me to provide quality healthcare services to my patients. For example, my belief in respect and humility has enabled me to serve my patients so well. I have had to do so because it is a value that has been inculcated in me by my culture. it is what I need to do as a Hindu. Secondly, cultural self-awareness is important in developing cultural intelligence because it fosters the spirit of understanding and cohesion between people from different backgrounds. As already hinted, healthcare services are delivered in a diverse setting made up of people from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, by having a cultural awareness, an individual can manage to establish a good professional and personal working relationship with the colleagues and clients (Kirmayer, 2012). During my time as a practitioner, I have greatly benefited from this. Although I am a Hindu believer from Nepal, I have never used it as an excuse to deliver low quality health care. Instead, I have managed to use my cultural awareness skills to create a good rapport in my workplace. I have done my best to understand the diverse cultural traditions around me to become a friendly, workable and sociable professional. I have been freely interacting with everyone because of the feeling that I respect, tolerate and appreciate their cultural values (Brown, et al., 2015). For example, when arguing with my colleagues, I ensure that I relax my position so as to accommodate their opinions no matter how conflicting it might be. It has made me to be an ideal employee with whom everyone aspires to collaborate. If I did not have knowledge on the culture around me, I would not have managed to achieve this because I would always be at logger heads with everyone. Finally, cultural self-awareness can help in the development of cultural intelligence since it enhances the delivery of culturally-competent healthcare services to the people. Culture is an aspect of care that should never be ignored when serving patients. Research has proven that culture plays a significant role in determining the health status of individuals and communities (Almutairi, McCarthy Gardner, 2014). Culture is one of the reasons why there still exist disparities in healthcare services in Australia. Therefore, to resolve this problem, the healthcare providers should be able to deliver culturally-competent services to all the cultural groups in the country. In my practice, I have benefited from my cultural consciousness because it has enabled me to delivery satisfactory healthcare services to my patients. Despite my Nepalese cultural background, I have never found it challenging to serve Australian patients. I have been using my cultural knowledge to effectively communica te with the indigenous and non-indigenous patients without many constraints (Doolan, et al., 2015). The secret for my success is that I know a lot of cultural values of these people. Therefore, it has become easier for me to communicate with them, appeal to them, convince and persuade them. They view me as a professional who respects, appreciates, and accommodate their cultural views regarding healthcare and medication. Conclusion In conclusion, culture is an important aspect of healthcare that should not be overlooked during service delivery. Cultural self-awareness and intelligence are fundamental skills that should be possessed by all the healthcare providers. It can enable them to be knowledgeable and conscious professionals who deliver culturally-competent healthcare services to all the patients. My origin has never hindered me from delivering a culturally-competent care to the patients. I have been respecting and appreciating diverse cultural norms, values, traditions, and practices has enabled me to succeed in my role as a healthcare provider. I have personally managed to satisfy the needs of my patients and established a good rapport and working relationship with them. All the healthcare providers should be culturally self-conscious and intelligent. 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