Cultural compassion in healthcare... who do you see when you look at me?

1. First impressions ... who do you see when you look a me?

Welcome to this Reusable Learning Object (RLO) about cultural compassion in healthcare.

According to sociologists, culture consists of the values, beliefs, systems of language, communication, and practices that people share in common and that can be used to define them as a collective.

Often people form impressions of each other within the fist few seconds of meeting someone, as nurses we need to be aware of unconscious bias, prejudices and stereotyping and approach each person with an open mind.

Culture is complex and multi-faceted - How we see people on the outside may not be how they are or feel on the inside. 21st century nurses need to be culturally aware in order to deliver effective individualised culturally compassionate care.

This Reusable Learning Object will take you through a variety of scenarios to stimulate your interest and encourage learning through reflection.

Each page will take you to a different situation, what is your first impression of each encounter then take a moment to look deeper and think about each person as an individual with individual needs and feelings. Think about cultural compassion, what words would you use to describe someone who due to health needs, may feel easily hurt physically or emotionally.

Throughout this resource you can build your own word cloud using up to 4 words from each of the scenarios that identify how each individual may feel - for example fragile, sensitive, resilient, strong, in pain or isolated.

Start your individual word cloud The picture portrays an individual sitting in the waiting room, however beneath the calm exterior their thoughts and feelings tell a different story. Using the picture as a guide choose four words and write them in the box provided. Select the word cloud icon to begin.
Add words to your word cloud
Illustration of boy in a waiting room - 'What do you see when you look at me?'

Enter four word cloud words.

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