This document provides an overview of a cultural awareness presentation for practical nursing students. It includes the date, time, and presenter information. The presenter will share stories from their nursing experiences working with diverse populations. The objectives are to broaden understanding of the Platinum Rule, describe how to apply it, compare it to the Golden Rule, and explore cultural aspects of nursing care. Key topics that will be covered include invisible backpacks, definitions of culture, models of health, cultural competence, humility and safety. Quotes and examples will be used to illustrate these concepts. Contact information for the presenter is provided.

1. Cultural Awareness
Practical Nursing
September 13th
, 2016 1330-1500
Greg Riehl RN BScN MA

2. Why am I here?
• I ask myself this every day, and I also ask those who I am
working with from time to time

3. Stories
• I will use some of my experiences working in health, in
the north, and as a nurse, often an outsider, working in
different situations.
• You are a part of the story.

4. Objectives
 To broaden the understanding of the Platinum Rule.
 To describe how to apply the Platinum Rule.
 Compare the Golden and Platinum Rules.
 To explore cultural aspects of nursing care.
 To identify the unique challenges faced by care providers
working with diverse clients.

5. We Don’t SeeThings AsThey Are,
We SeeThem As We Are Anaïs Nin
“It has been well said that we do not see things as they are, but as we are
ourselves. Every man looks through the eyes of his prejudices, of his preconceived
notions. Hence, it is the most difficult thing in the world to broaden a man so that
he will realize truth as other men see it.”

6. I try to be skeptical (question things) and not cynical (dismiss ideas &
find fault with them)

7. Invisible Backpack
“all of us carry an invisible ‘backpack’ of our culture,
experiences, beliefs, values and morals.Whenever we
encounter another person, our backpack is present with us
and influences how we interact with our patients and their
families”.
Scott Harrison
Invisible Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

8. Invisible Backpack

9. Invisible Backpack

10. What is Culture?
• Behaviour is what you do…
• Culture is how you do it…

11. What is Culture?
• More than just the 3 or 4 F’s?

12. Everything is about CULTURE
• Everybody knows about it
• Everybody does it
• Nobody talks about it
• Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, MN

13. Culture is a world view
• North American culture sees health as an individual problem,
but we live in dynamic, intercultural communities.
• Culture can be a barrier to caring for our clients.
• We learn about disease models of health
• We need to focus on wellness and resilience models of
health
• Health is multifaceted with issues related to mental, spiritual,
emotional, and physical health.

14. Cultural Competence is a part of the
Platinum Rule
• Cultural Awareness
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Cultural Knowledge
• Cultural Competence
• Cultural Humility
• Cultural Safety

15. Cultural Awareness
Is really concerned about acceptance

16. Cultural Sensitivity
Is about respecting differences and often uses neutral
language, and neutral communication

17. Cultural Sensitivity
Is about respecting differences and often uses neutral
language, and neutral communication

18. What happens if a bird poops on you?
• Bird poop brings good luck!There is a belief that if a bird
poops on you, your car or your property, you may receive
good luck and riches.The more birds involved, the richer
you'll be! So next time a bird poops on you, remember
that it's a good thing.

19. Cultural Knowledge
Familiarization with selected cultural characteristics, history, values,
belief systems, and
behaviours of the members of another ethic group

21. Cultural Competence
Is about understanding, knowledge skills and attitudes, working
effectively in cross cultural and intercultural situations, this is the
application of knowledge, creates the environment of cultural safety

22. Cultural Humility
Focuses on self reflection and acknowledges power
differences, and privilege.

23. Cultural Safety
Stresses the importance of relationships and partnerships, power
shifts to the client, to decide what is safe and what is not

25. An environment that is safe for people; where there is no assault,
challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need.
It is about shared respect, shared meaning, shared knowledge and
experience, of learning, living and working together
with dignity and truly listening.
(Health Q. F., 2012)
Cultural Safety

26. Physical Mental Emotional Spiritual
My perspective is that each
of these four parts can be
treated as its own body.
Each requires its own form
of sustenance and exercise
to be healthy

27. Seven Directions!
East
South
West
North
Life Above the Earth
Life Below the Earth
Life on the Earth (and within ourselves)

28. Direction and Hierarchy
• The more vertical an organization or a culture is in its
hierarchy, the more complicated communication
becomes.

29. Classroom Seating Position and College Grades
• Studies show that students who sit in the front and center
(middle) of the classroom tend to achieve higher average
exam scores.
• One study discovered a direct relationship between test
scores and seating distance from the front of class:
students in the front, middle, and back rows of class
scored 80%, 71.6%, and 68.1% respectively

30. • Cultural safety
stresses the
importance of
reflection &
acceptance of
differences.
• We should not treat
everyone the same.
• We do need to
recognize and
acknowledge our
blind spots.

31. Standards and Best Practices
• One of the problems with “best practices” are that they are
inflexible, especially for social sciences, and they may not
reflect the diversity of human worldviews or the underlying
differences between Indigenous worldviews.Typically, this
proposition creates oppression and discrimination.
• Indigenous wise practices vsWestern educational system best
practices

32. Good Hunters vs BadTipi Builder

33. Bronze Silver Gold Platinum Rules
• Bronze
• Do unto others as they have done unto you
• Silver
• What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others
• Gold
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
• Platinum
• Do unto others as they want done unto them

34. Bronze silver gold platinum rules
The culture ofWestern medicine places diagnosis as a
central goal
Aboriginal medicine, see diagnosis as less central and pay
more attention to finding a safe environment in which the
patient may recover.
For conditions such as mental disorders, this latter
approach may prove more effective than struggling to
attach a label to the disorder.

35. Bronze rule
Do unto others as they have done unto you

36. Silver
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do
to others

37. Gold
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

38. Platinum
Do unto others as they want done unto them

39. THE PLATINUM RULE.
TREAT OTHERS
HOW THEY WANT TO BE
TREATED

40. Nursing Process and the Medicine
Wheel

41. Imbalance Creates Illness
 Holistic approach to address issues and factors that impact illness targeting
not just the disease, but also the social determinants of health and economic
circumstances.
 It is recognized that the whole family (broadly defined) is as impacted by
disease and needs healing just as the individual who is ‘sick’ requires care,
treatment and support.

42. Lateral Kindness
• Please be kind to each other
• Respectful and responsible relationships, there are no
apps for that.
• Be Grateful
• Be Great!

43. Discussion, questions,
comments!!!
Thank you for your participation

44. WhereYou Sit In Class And What It Says About
Your Personality
• 8) In the back row.“I really don’t want to be here, so I’m
going to sit in the very back where I can fall asleep, or surf
Facebook without anyone looking over my shoulder at
the screen.”
• 7) In the front row.“I want the professor to see my face
everyday and know who I am. That way, he’s more likely
to bump up my grade when I need an extra half point. At
least, that’s what the article in Seventeen Magazine told
me.”

45. WhereYou Sit In Class And What It Says About
Your Personality
• 6) Close to an aisle.“I don’t care if people have to shuffle
over my knees just to get in and out, I just want a quick
exit when this class is over.”
• 5) Right in the middle.“I’m most comfortable when I’m
surrounded by people. Also, if this lecture hall is anything
like a movie theater, I’ll have the best view in the house.”

46. WhereYou Sit In Class And What It Says About
Your Personality
• 4) Uncomfortably close to someone else. “I choose this
desk right next to you, even when there’s two dozen
other desks available just because I like to assert my
dominance this way. Also, you smell nice.”
• 3)Taking up two or more desks. “I need room for my
laptop, my gigantic bag, my books, my purse, and my
coat. And damn anyone who thinks I don’t deserve the
extra space.”

47. WhereYou Sit In Class And What It Says About
Your Personality
• 2) In a different classroom. “I read the schedule wrong.”
• 1) In your bedroom. “I don’t feel like going to class
today.”

48. Contact information
Greg Riehl RN BScN MA
Aboriginal Nursing Student Advisor
Aboriginal Nursing Student Achievement
Program
Saskatchewan Polytechnic
Regina Campus
Email: greg.riehl@saskpolytech.ca

49. Statement of Commitment to Co-workers
As your co-worker with a shared goal of providing excellent service to people
and families, I commit the following:
I will accept responsibility for establishing and maintaining healthy
interpersonal relationships with you and every member of this staff.
I will talk to you promptly if I am having a problem with you. The only
time I will discuss it with another person is when I need advice or help
in deciding how to communicate with you appropriately.
I will establish & maintain a relationship of functional trust with you and
every member of this staff. My relationships with each of you
will be equally respectful, regardless of job titles or levels of educational preparation.
I will not engage in the '3B's (bickering, back-biting and bitching) &
will ask you not to as well.
I will not complain about another team member & ask you not to as well.
If I hear you doing so, I will ask you to talk to that person.
I will accept you as you are today, forgiving past problems,
& ask you to do the same with me.
I will be committed to finding solutions to problems rather than
complaining about them or blaming someone, & ask you to do the same.
I will affirm your contribution to quality service.
I will remember that neither of us is perfect, & that human errors
are opportunities not for shame or guilt, but for forgiveness and growth.
(Adapted from Marie Manthey, President of Creative Nursing Management in Caroline Flint's Midwifery Teams and Caseloads 1993; p. 138)