Introduction
Thinking about cultural competence has helped me understand what I believe, what is my cultural background and how my cultural background affects me when I'm in interaction with another person. I have studied cultural sensitivity topics, how to tell the truth in healthcare, and effective communication to understand the need to develop skills that would aid my future practice in community services.
Topics That Resonated with Me
Wherever I went, I found one topic that resonated strongly with me, which was the contrast between the various dos and don’ts, especially in cultural differences when it comes to telling patients the truth about serious illness — that was between China and the United States. I was particularly interested in this as it called into question what it means to show respect and care in healthcare settings. In the U.S., patients are typically told straight out what they have, but in China, families have been known to shelter patients from the truth in the belief that it does them less harm (Xue et al. 2011).
I found this kind of resonated with me in that it made me realize just how cultural values can literally determine the way to communicate in uncomfortable situations. I think about my own assumptions of honesty, compassion, and respect. It made me realize that what I might call 'honest' would likely be perceived as rude because of another cultural context. Reading this brought to mind all of the reasons why cultural sensitivity in community services is imperative (Xue et al. 2011). It served as a great reminder for a future practitioner to adjust how I do things based on a client’s background so that my actions are in line with their values. The lesson reminded me why I need to become a more inclusive thinker, more so a times when I may encounter emotionally complex situations.
Influence of My Cultural Background
I’ve been raised as someone from a Hindu and Nepalese background, and, as you can tell, my culture heavily contributes to how I see the world, my relationships, and my actions. Major values in the tradition were honor for elders, humility, and compassion. These are the values that will also speak to how to communicate with people in authority or people who are older (Al-Bishi, 2022). For instance, I dislike disagreeing directly with elders verbally because of fear, instead, I wish to discuss things indirectly and slowly. The upbringing I’ve had has provided teaching for me to put weight on harmony and balance in every relationship.
The way I feel about the community has also been influenced by my Nepalese background. So, Nepalese society was very close and very kind family and sociality. So in our professional address and personal context too, I value cooperation, participation, and collective support, and so this affects the way I go about teamwork and collaboration. For example, I tend to naturally support and lift up other people and prefer the team over me.
Given this background, I’m more understanding of the higher value placed on kin and community over the individual (collectivist cultures) and therefore am more respectful of points of view that are collectivist in nature. At the same time, it challenges me to adapt elsewhere in operating rooms, and more individualistic settings, and reminds me to balance my cultural values against a multicultural environment’s expectations (Wu et al. 2021).
Self-Reflection as a Future Practitioner in Community Services
Through learning, I have grown to realize that I know more about my future role within community services when I am practicing than I may realize. I understood that being well aware and sensitive to cultural issues will be critical to providing good support to diverse folks and communities. It is important to understand other people's perspectives, especially in areas where people are touchy.
I’ve also discovered that self-reflection is a powerful way to improve yourself in both your personal and professional life. Looking at my own cultural background and biases has taught me why I should enter into each situation blind to these assumptions. With this in mind, I will be able to create stronger more trusting relationships with clients by actively listening, and respecting their unique diverse experiences and backgrounds.
It also means that I always need to polish up my communication skills as I need to always adapt them to the ones they are using in that place. If I learn to be open to learning from each interaction, this will enable me to serve people better, especially in awkward or cross-cultural situations. The lessons from these have taught me that for me to be a successful community services practitioner, required to constantly learn, be adaptable, and be a person who connects (Mohamed et al. 2023). This way will direct me toward creating important and positive impacts in the lives of the people I serve.
Applying Cultural Competence in Professional and Personal Life
My cultural competence learnings have come in the form of practical applications, so I know how to interact more culturally with myself and how to be more culturally competent at work. With my future professional life in mind, I will practice cultural competence by actively listening, without assumptions, to gain an understanding of each client’s worldview and perspective, not my own. This will enable me to support those values and needs which is so crucial to building trust in community services. I also want to stay adaptable and responsive and I want to continue to educate myself about other peoples’ cultural practices and belief systems.
In my personal life, cultural competence, particularly, will help me communicate better with people having diverse cultures. Being open-minded and respectful might give me a more meaningful relationship and avoid some misunderstandings (Mori et al. 2023). I also want friends and family to see they can show empathy and understanding by embracing diversity in their interactions with people.
All around the skills that I’ve learned through cultural competence will ease my ability to get along with other people and appreciate other’s viewpoints, whether this is at the office or with my loved ones. This is how I am going to achieve my purpose of designing spaces that work for all, including everyone being valued and treated with respect.
Finding Knowledge Gaps and Steps to Fill
Thinking about cultural competence highlights some areas where I am missing information as well as the knowledge I need to do further work in this area. A big challenge of mine is to really understand how to deal with complex situations where lots of cultural beliefs affect decision-making. Such as handling sensitive things regarding health, family or religious practice will need a little deeper understanding of respective norms and values (Mori et al. 2023). Also, I think that I need more experience in handling conflicts born of cultural misinterpretations because I often feel uneasy about something like this.
To fill the gaps, I intend to constantly keep on persuading myself for further education through workshops and training programs on intercultural communication. I will also be able to engage with diverse communities and dive directly into understanding with them different cultural perspectives. Reading case studies about cultural competence in community services can learn how other practitioners have resolved the complexities of culture. Eventually, I intend to improve my conflict resolution skills by practicing active listening and asking non-leading questions when things get misinterpreted from a cultural perspective. This will help me become more confident and more effective in providing culturally competent support.
Conclusion
In this reflection, I have realized how culturally competent I need to be in the profession and personal part. I will learn about my own cultural influences, how to improve my communication skills and purge away my lack of knowledge in order to converse with a variety of people. My aim now is to forward continuous learning and improvement to provide respectful and inclusive support in my future work.