Nursing and Culture – caring for an Orthodox Jew
Caring for Mr Peter, a 36-year old Orthodox Jew, during my clinical nursing practice could, perhaps, be one of the moments I had to witness the effects of culture and religion on nursing. Mr Peter, observant of the Jewish culture, was not allowed to touch any electrical appliances during the Sabbath day. In other words, he could neither press the call bell nor use the light switch from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. To embrace such cultural diversities and ensure quality care for the client, the hospital had put several measures in place in addition to my interventions as a nurse.
A Sabbath mode refrigerator had been installed in the room to facilitate all activities that required the input of electricity without the client practically coming in contact with the appliances. Opening the refrigerator door could disable all electrical activities within the room and vice versa. Another crucial installation was the Sabbath lamp that could block or expose light irrespective of the electrical status of the switch. Just by moving its parts, the light could be prevented or exposed even when the power was on. Ideally, I was frequently in the room to ensure that all the improvised measures were working and I could help the patient with whatever he required. At some point, I had to text his relatives on his behalf because their religion did not permit texting for the specified period.
From this experience, I acknowledged that culture plays a critical role in nursing, even though it is often disregarded by many personnel. Provision of quality care requires both technical nursing abilities and an understanding of social aspects such as the religious restrictions of clients. As dictated by the principle of patient autonomy, every nurse should respect the cultural limitations of their clients and always attempt to provide care as specified by the patient.
References
DeVito, J. (2019, April). Understanding the Orthodox Jewish family during childbirth. In Nursing forum (Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 220-226).
Weber, J.R., & Kelley, J.H. (2018). Health assessment in nursing (6th Ed.). Wolters Kluwer.