Cultural Diversity A Health Care Professional - 1396 Words

As a health care professional you should be aware of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is the existence of different ethnic groups in the same society. It is important to be knowledgeable about cultural diversity so you can understand and respect someone else who has their own unique way of doing things in their life. The United States is one of the countries that have the most cultural diversity. One of the cultures that exist in the United States is the Mexican culture. Mexicans come from Central American Indians, Native Americans, Spanish, and Africans. The majority of Mexican immigrants live in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. However, Los Angeles has the highest Mexican population. People†¦show more content†¦In Mexico about 85% of the population is Catholic, 10% is Protestants and less than 5% are Jewish. As a result, health care professionals should keep in mind different religious traditions. For example, Catholics have sp ecial requests when dealing with ill people. It’s important for Catholics to have sacraments and blessings before surgery and whenever they are at risk of death. When a patient is near death, they might request a priest to offer them â€Å"Sacrament of the Sick†. Some Catholics patients would want to maintain religious objects such as rosary, scapula or a religious metal during the procedures. Therefore, the health care professional should discuss the options that they have dealing with their objects. For instance, the patient could have their object seal in a bag to prevent contamination during the procedure, but if the object contains metal and they are going to have a radiological test then the family would have to bring in a non-metal object. In addition, patients who are Catholics might request non-meat diets during the late-winter time of Lent which is 40 days before Easter. Besides, the Mexicans people also light candles and pray for Saints. Each saint has a uni que as well general religious function. For example, St. Peregrine is associated with cancer, St. Joseph is associated with dying and Our Lady of Lourdes is related to the bodily ills. When a person gets sick the people who care about them and believe in this religion will pray to one of