Haitian Cultural Interview free essay sample

If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act/s, which could include expulsion from Indiana Wesleyan University. Joseph ElmsApril 9, 2013 Cultural Interview The purpose of this paper is to discuss an interview which took place with a person of a different culture who has lived in the United States for a period of five years or less. The idea behind the interview was to gain a deeper understanding of that person’s culture as well as their religious beliefs, health, political views, family, and way of communicating. My interview took place at the hospital where I currently work, in a break room after the end of my shift with P. O. , a physician who joined our organization in July of 2012. P. O. comes to our facility after completing a three year pediatric residency in Chicago. Prior to his pediatric residency, P. O. lived in Haiti where he also completed a five year surgical residency, at State University of Haiti Hospital, Port-au-Prince. Culturally unique individual: My interview began after a brief conversation with P. O. o discuss with him the details of the assignment and to answer any questions he might have regarding the interview. I emailed P. O. earlier in the week to confirm our meeting place and time, and wanted to make sure he was clear on the purpose of the interview, since all of our prior conversations were discussed via email. He assured me that he understood and the interview began. I began the interview with asking P. O. to tell me a little about himself such as where he was born, and how long he had lived in the United States. P. O. replied that he was born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, and had lived in the United States for almost 5 years (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). He explained to me that right after his moving to the United States, he and his wife lived for a short time in Tampa, Florida with some of his family and friends while looking for a place to live in Chicago. Communication: P. O. speaks with a strong resonant sound. His pronunciation and enunciation are slurred and often difficult to understand. While he does speak English, it is hard to understand, and I found myself asking for him to repeat himself on numerous occasions. He pauses often throughout our conversation, almost as if he is unsure of how to communicate his thoughts to me in English. I asked him what language he often prefers to speak and his response was, â€Å"French or Haitian Creole† (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). He mentioned that speaking â€Å"French† is considered more high class and upscale, and to speak Creole is considered a lower class language (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). I do recall reading that â€Å"Haitian Creole is the language of the rural or poor population† and â€Å"French is the official national language and is understood and spoken only by the upper or wealthy class† (Giger, 2013, p. 489). During our conversation, P. O. used frequent hand movements and gestures when speaking and I recall reading that â€Å"Haitians frequently use hand gestures to complement their speech† (Giger, 2013, p. 489). P. O. made great eye contact with me during the asking of my questions, and often used exaggerated facial expressions with most of his words. While most Haitians tend to not make direct eye contact (Colin, n. d. , p. 12), I wondered if maybe the reason P. O. did was because of his daily dealing with patients, and having been in the country for a few years. Space: Having worked with P. O. on a regular basis, I’ve often noticed his use of personal space when talking with a patient and asked him about this during the interview. He responded by telling me that many times how close he gets to a patient or their family, depends on how accepting they appear to him (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). Typically speaking, he replied that he stands about 2-3 feet away from a patient or a patient’s family when talking with them. When I asked him how close he stands when speaking with family members, co-workers, or others that he is familiar with, he stated that he usually stands closer to them, because he knows how they respond. According to Cook Ross (2010), touch for many Haitians is common practice and P. O. states that if he does touch a patient during his conversation, it is gentle and only to reiterate what he is saying or to offer support (P. O. ersonal communication, April 4, 2013). Social organization: P. O. states that he is in a great state of health; that he works out daily, and loves dancing with his wife. He likes to â€Å"hang out† with friends, family, and going to concerts. He is married, has two children, one daughter who is 12, and one son who is 7. His father passed away some years ago, and only his mother is living (P. O. personal communication, Apr il 4, 2013). When I asked him what it was that made him decide to become a physician, he explained to me that it was because of his father. His father was a physician in the Army; very compassionate and caring, and someone he wanted to model his life after (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). His relationship between his father and mother was caring and supportive and they always encouraged him to seek after his goals, and be the best that he could be. He got along great with his 4 sisters while growing up and continues to keep in contact with them (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). I wasn’t exactly sure how to ask P. O. about his belief in a Supreme Being, mostly because I felt like I was already invading his culture. It was funny because I had copied the questions for the interview and had them sitting in front of me to make it easier to take notes. P. O. actually took the paper from the table and started to read the questions out loud and asked the question about his belief in â€Å"Supreme Being† himself. His response was that he does believe in a higher power; he is catholic and attends church with his family when feasible, but that depends on what hours he is working at the hospital (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). As we approached the topic of political views, he shared that he really doesn’t have any â€Å"set† views. He apparently isn’t able to vote in the United States yet so he said that he doesn’t feel much of an impact or have strong feelings towards politics (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). Time: P. O. is a prompt person and labels himself as a present-oriented person, trying his best to keep on schedule as much as possible throughout his day. He often tries to get 8 hours of sleep a night, but this is all dependent on whether or not he is â€Å"on-call† and how much he has to do when he gets home (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2012). Environmental Control: As our interview continued, I started off the next section of questions with asking P. O. about his â€Å"locus-of-control† and whether he would consider himself more internally or externally focused. He stated that he believes that he is more internally focused and agrees that â€Å"the power to affect change lies within† (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). We briefly discussed supernatural forces, and P. O. mentioned that while he personally does not believe in supernatural forces, the majority of the Haitian population believes in some form of â€Å"supernatural force†, and many continue to practice Voodoo. I researched this practice of Voodoo a little more after the interview and learned that many people believe that the reason that Haiti continues to be so poor is a result of their Voodoo practices. Adam M. McGee says, â€Å"Vodou is frequently invoked as a cause of Haiti’s continued impoverishment. While scholarly arguments have been advanced for why this is untrue, Vodou is persistently plagued by a poor reputation† (McGee, 2012). After discussing the issue of Voodoo and supernatural forces, we transitioned towards less intense topics such as hospitality in Haiti and how Americans might compare. P. O. tated that while America seems to be welcoming, they are nothing like Haiti. He stated that he and his wife used to leave their door unlocked at their house in Haiti all the time, and that friends and family would just come and go as they please†¦they were always welcome. In the US, if you do that you could have bad things happen to your house and family (P. O. perso nal communication, April 4, 2013). We continued for a few more minutes discussing hospitality in the United States and how it differs from north to south, and then transitioned into how his parents used to treat sickness when it was in their home. P. O. mentioned that his mother would use herbal remedies for him and his sisters on occasion when he was younger, but because his father was a physician, they used more traditional ways of treating sickness with medicine and antibiotics (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 203). P. O. stated that that the only real herbal remedy that he still uses on occasion, is a sort of tea mixture that he makes when he has a sore throat (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). I continued my questions regarding his health and asked him what his definition of â€Å"good health† would be? He responded that â€Å"good health† is just that, it is being in a state of good health, while â€Å"poor health† he thinks of as someone who is fragile and near death (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). I then asked him about what diseases or illnesses were common to his family, and he asked if I met personally or culturally. I responded that I wasn’t sure, so he replied that culturally speaking†¦hypertension, heart problems, major infection, and diabetes, are the most common types of illness for Haitians. He did mention that hypertension is probably the highest, because of the high salt and spicy diets that Haitians eat (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). We concluded the interview with my asking him if he had any favorite foods that he ate as a child, or any that would be considered â€Å"traditional? † He replied that his most favorite dish is called â€Å"Joumou† (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). Apparently, â€Å"Joumou† is a type of squash soup that is served in pretty much all households in Haiti on January 1st to celebrate their independence from France (Annee, 2013). In re-reading through this interview, it is obvious that there are many nursing implications that come into play within the Haitian culture. Language is one that I discussed in the beginning of my interview. P. O. spoke English, but it was â€Å"difficult to understand† and usually meant me asking him to repeat himself. Just like other cultures or languages, it is up to the nurse to determine what language or dialects a person speaks and then find an appropriate resource such as an interpreter to aid in translating. Another implication for nursing care regarding the Haitian population and something that I noticed during my interview is P. O. and his time orientation. P. O. onveyed his detail to time and the importance of keeping to a schedule, but â€Å"traditionally, Haitians are not committed to a time or schedule† (Giger, 2013), meaning that nurses who might see Haitians in a clinic for an appointment, could be late or miss an appointment altogether. Probably the most important nursing implication in Haitians involves the spiritual or healing aspect. Just because the majority of Haiti is Catholic, doesn’t mean that Haitian’s who are Catholic, Baptist, or Spiritual give up their Voodoo practices according to P. O (personal communication, April 4, 2013). P. O. entioned to me that this is very important to remember and take into consideration when treating anyone from his country. He also spoke to me about the importance of getting a detailed medication history from Haitians to make sure that any herbal voodoo drugs or remedies are discussed, so that the possibility of medication interaction can be ruled out (P. O. personal communication, April 4, 2013). In conclusion, I felt that this interview was beneficial for both me and for P. O. I learned about a culture and country that continues to face many difficult issues. Issues such as poor health, lack of health care, disease, and poverty. As a nurse who works daily on the front lines, I learned that regardless of how much I think I might know about a culture, there will always be many things that I will never know. Each culture has to be addressed and recognized as different than my own†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"the Haitian culture method of healthcare delivery must be recognized before high-quality care can be rendered (Giger, 2013). Regardless of the culture, nurses must recognize that there will always be differences, but understanding these differences is what can set us apart to be the â€Å"World changer† that we need to be.