Deck 5: Cultural Influences in Nursing in Community Health

Question 1

A nurse who is explaining to a client why it is important to take medication states, "The medication takes a couple of weeks to be effective, but then you should feel better." When the client is next seen, no medication has been purchased. Which of the following is the most likely explanation?

A)The nurse emphasized that eventually the client would feel better, but the client needed to feel better immediately so didn't bother with the drug.
B)The medication required a trip to the pharmacy, and the client just hadn't had time to obtain the drug yet.
C)The medication was too expensive for the client's family.
D)The client really hadn't understood why the medication was important.

Answer 1

The nurse emphasized that eventually the client would feel better, but the client needed to feel better immediately so didn't bother with the drug.

Question 2

A male nurse had a habit of sitting with the lower part of one leg resting over the knee of his opposite leg when collecting a client's history. He stopped doing this around Muslim clients after being told that Muslims were offended when he exposed the sole of his foot (shoe) to their face. Which of the following was exhibited by the nurse when he changed his behavior?

A)Cultural accommodation
B)Cultural imposition
C)Cultural repatterning
D)Cultural skill

Answer 2

Cultural skill

Question 3

The nurse practitioner (NP) discovered that an immigrant client is not taking the penicillin prescribed because his illness is "hot" and he believes that penicillin, a "hot" medicine, will not provide balance. Which of the following terms best describes the action taken by the NP when the client's prescription is changed to a different yet equally effective antibiotic?

A)Cultural awareness
B)Cultural brokering
C)Cultural knowledge
D)Cultural skill

Answer 3

Cultural skill

Question 4

An undocumented immigrant comes to a physician's office to receive care. Which of the following services can the client receive? (Select all that apply.)

A)Treatment for tuberculosis
B)Treatment for Type 2 diabetes
C)Immunization for polio
D)Physical examination

Question 5

A Buddhist patient enters the hospital for diagnostic testing just before lunch time. The nurse tells the aide to give a meal tray to the new patient, because no tests will be done until later that evening. The aide gives the patient a meal of Salisbury steak, bread, green beans, and potatoes with brown gravy. The patient eats nothing but a slice of bread and the green beans. Which of the following considerations was omitted by the nurse?

A)The patient should not be served any food until a physician's order is obtained.
B)The patient's Buddhist faith probably requires a vegetarian diet.
C)The patient may be too frightened about the tests to want to eat very much.
D)The patient may have diabetes or be allergic to some foods.

Question 6

A nurse is about to despair. Earlier in the week, she carefully taught a patient from a different culture exactly how much medication to take and emphasized the importance of taking the correct amount. However, the patient is back in the hospital today with symptoms of an overdose, although the patient denies taking more than the label indicated. Which of the following is the most likely explanation?

A)The patient was taking more mediation in the hope of getting well faster.
B)The patient was also taking folk medicines that had many of the same effects and perhaps some of the same ingredients as the prescribed medication.
C)The patient truly did not understand and thought the dose being taken was correct.
D)The patient had a unique response to the medication and should have a smaller dose ordered.

Question 7

A health care worker tells a nurse, "It does no good to try to teach those Medicaid clients about nutrition because they will just eat what they want to no matter how much we teach them." Which of the following is being demonstrated by this statement?

A)Cultural imposition
B)Ethnocentrism
C)Racism
D)Stereotyping

Question 8

A client is crying softly and saying, "What did I do to deserve this punishment, Lord?" Which of the following responses by the nurse would be the most appropriate?

A)"God doesn't punish people. You're sick just because of bad luck."
B)"I can call the hospital chaplain to help you talk about these feelings"
C)"What can I do to be helpful to you right now?"
D)"Would you like to confess your sins and repent so this illness will go away?"

Question 9

A 40-year-old Bosnian, Muslim woman who does not speak English presents to a community health center in obvious pain. She requests a female health care provider. Through physical gestures, the woman indicates that the pain is originating in either the pelvic or genital region. Which of the following interpreters would be the most appropriate in this situation?

A)A Bosnian male who is certified as a medical interpreter
B)A female from the client's community
C)A female who does not know the client
D)The client's 20-year-old daughter

Question 10

Which of the following best describes most Americans' attitude toward immigrants?

A)Ambivalence because there are no clear solutions about how to address their needs
B)Strongly negative because immigrants take jobs that native-born Americans could have instead
C)Strongly positive because immigrants bring useful job skills and often join previous family members already in the United States
D)Strong opposition to further immigration because of the increasing population in the United States

Question 11

When teaching a nutrition class to a student group with a large Hispanic population, the school nurse incorporates foods such as salsa and other healthy dishes familiar to Hispanic students into the presentation. Which of the following best describes the action taken by the nurse?

A)Primary prevention
B)Secondary prevention
C)Tertiary prevention
D)Both primary and secondary prevention

Question 12

For a bedridden Muslim patient, the nurse rearranges the room and moves the bed so that it faces toward Mecca for the patient's daily prayers. Which of the following is the nurse demonstrating through these actions?

A)Accommodation
B)Awareness
C)Brokering
D)Imposition

Question 13

A nurse is caring for a client of another culture. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the nurse to take?

A)Alter personal nonverbal behaviors to reflect the cultural norms of the client.
B)Keep all behaviors culturally neutral to avoid misinterpretation.
C)Rely on friendly gestures to communicate caring for the client.
D)Avoid any pretense of prejudice by treating the client in the same way as any other client.

Question 14

A nurse states, "The best way to treat a client from another country is to care for them the same way we would want to be cared for. After all, we are all humans with the same wants and needs." What does this statement reflect in relation to culture?

A)Awareness
B)Blindness
C)Knowledge
D)Preservation

Question 15

A nurse wishes to develop cultural competence. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

A)Complete a survey of all the various ethnicities represented in the nurse's community.
B)Consider how the nurse's own personal beliefs and decisions are reflective of his or her culture.
C)Invite a family from another culture to join the nurse for an event.
D)Study the beliefs and traditions of persons living in other cultures.

Question 16

A nurse gives detailed information on how to apply for Medicaid to a new mother who moved to the United States from Russia about 10 years ago. The nurse's next client is an African-American mother of newborn twins who worked until the children were born. The nurse knows the woman is eligible to maintain her insurance after her employment was lost and does not discuss insurance options at all. Which of the following errors is being made by the nurse?

A)Covert intentional prejudice
B)Covert unintentional prejudice
C)Overt intentional prejudice
D)Overt unintentional prejudice

Question 17

A nurse says, "I'm not going to change the way I practice nursing based on where the client is from, because research shows that Western health care technology and research is best." Which of the following is being demonstrated by the nurse's statement?

A)Ethnocentrism
B)Prejudice
C)Racism
D)Stereotyping

Question 18

Mexican immigrants who take metamizole ("Mexican aspirin") for pain may experience life-threatening agranulocytosis. Which of the following actions would be taken by a nurse who employs cultural repatterning?

A)Complete a cultural assessment to identify any other dangerous medications that the client may be taking.
B)Put this into perspective by considering that many drugs used in the United States cause agranulocytosis.
C)Explain the harmful effects of metamizole and recommend an alternative medication for pain.
D)Recognize that taking metamizole is common among persons living in Mexico and accept this as a cultural tradition.

Question 19

At a local hospital, postpartum care policy requires that nurses observe the mother during infant care to assess the mother's ability to care for the new baby and to promote bonding. A new mother expresses concern that in her country, all infant care is provided by other family members so that the mother can rest and recover. Which of the following actions would be taken by a culturally competent nurse?

A)Allow family members to provide the newborn's care and assess the mother's knowledge of child care through discussion.
B)Reinforce the importance of bonding and that all good mothers gladly assume these responsibilities.
C)Explain that the process of postpartum recovery does not require this much rest and require that she provide infant care.
D)State that she must abide by hospital policy because documentation of the mother's ability to give the infant care is required for discharge.

Question 20

A family from Mexico comes to the public health department. No one in the family speaks English, and nobody at the health department speaks Spanish. Which of the following actions should be taken by the nurse?

A)Attempt communication using an English-Spanish phrase book.
B)Call the local hospital and arrange a referral.
C)Emphatically state, "No hablo Español" (I don't speak Spanish).
D)Obtain an interpreter to translate.

Question 21

A nurse recognizes that although a patient speaks English, the patient is from a culture with which the nurse is unfamiliar. Therefore, a cultural assessment should be attempted. Which of the following questions should the nurse ask? (Select all that apply.)

A)"Can you tell me where your family is from?"
B)"Do you practice a particular religious faith?"
C)"Have you ever been in an American hospital before?"
D)"Is there anything special we need to know about your food preferences?"