(Not PN) by AnthonyT

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

(Not PN)

POSTED BY: ANTHONYT
UPDATED: Thursday, November 18, 2010 10:39
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VIEWED: 736
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 6:58 AM

Freedom is Important because People are Important

http://www.clickorlando.com/education/25817476/detail.html

Hello,

I was surprised at the stereotypes present in a book designed to educate professionals.

I don't know why this person was fired (it could be for unrelated reasons), but I agree that the text described in the article is questionable.

--Anthony

Due to the use of Naomi 3.3.2 Beta web filtering, the following people may need to private-message me if they wish to contact me: Auraptor, Kaneman, Piratenews. I apologize for the inconvenience.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:03 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

We can't know if her termination was because of her complaint about the book, obviously. But I think the book is unconscionable. Even leaving aside the obvious stereotyping, it seems to be suggesting, for example, that one should judte how old an African-American is when deciding how to refer to them (which is stupid and gets in the way of nursing).

That Cubans may consider being overweight one way or another has nothing to do with a nurse or doctor advising them of the unhealthy aspects of being so. Other cultures may do so as well.

If one culture or another doesn't pay as much attention to the clock, what the hell does it matter? I know an AWFUL lot of white people who are habitually late to appointments...big deal.

Basically, the stereotypes provided in the article mean to me, more than anything, that nurses are supposed to interact with their patients depending on what race/nationality/etc., they are, which is stupid and wrong.

In my opinion, they are absolutely wrong in keeping the texbook and shame on them. It couldn't serve to enhance any nurse's interaction with her patients; in fact the opposite.

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:20 AM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

Indeed, this text seems to be a misguided attempt to give health care professionals a diverse view of cultural differences... But all it seems to be doing is reinforcing broad stereotypes. It is much better to deal with each patient as an individual rather than assigning them a host of preconceptions simply because of their race, religion, sex, or ethnicity.

--Anthony

Due to the use of Naomi 3.3.2 Beta web filtering, the following people may need to private-message me if they wish to contact me: Auraptor, Kaneman, Piratenews. I apologize for the inconvenience.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:30 AM

KANEMAN

"Basically, the stereotypes provided in the article mean to me, more than anything, that nurses are supposed to interact with their patients depending on what race/nationality/etc., they are, which is stupid and wrong."

Why? Are you ignoring cultural differences on purpose? Must be great to live in OZ.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 10:08 AM

FREMDFIRMA

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Indeed, this text seems to be a misguided attempt to give health care professionals a diverse view of cultural differences... But all it seems to be doing is reinforcing broad stereotypes. It is much better to deal with each patient as an individual rather than assigning them a host of preconceptions simply because of their race, religion, sex, or ethnicity.

Amen.

That's one place where Gov regs, even when they exist, are totally fuckin useless - retaliatory action towards employees who speak out, case in point, remember the guys who exposed that the EMT system in Detroit is fucked cause the damn Police live high on the hog and suck up all the money from the "public safety" budget ?
http://detnews.com/article/20101117/METRO01/11170345/1409/Detroit-EMS-
workers-say-staffing-complaint-led-to-their-suspensions

This is where Unions would come in handy, if the miltary and the law didn't cripple them into useless extensions of corporate power, used these days for employee pacification.

I'll forward this one to the IWW, see what they have to say.
http://www.iww.org/

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010 6:25 PM

CANTTAKESKY

Quote:
Originally posted by kaneman:
Why? Are you ignoring cultural differences on purpose? Must be great to live in OZ.

As someone who travels a lot and has lived in a bunch of different countries, I believe understanding cultural differences is key in good communication. So no, don't ignore cultural differences.

But the book doesn't sound like it is explaining cultural differences. It sounds like it is explaining how groups from other countries can be annoying by being different from us. They are not punctual, they like to get drunk, they enjoy being fat.... All these "cultural differences" are negative and judgmental. They provide only prejudice, and further no understanding whatsoever.

If they truly wanted to educate about cultural differences, they should have explained things from the other culture's point of view, in a more neutral or positive view.

For example, instead of saying Haitians don't respect the clock, they could have said, "Because Haitians view time as a dynamic and negotiable tool, appointments are often made as a loose suggestion rather than a promise. Schedules may be viewed as unnecessarily rigid. When planning meetings with each other, accepting each other's fluidity is a sign of mutual respect." (If indeed this is true, of course.)

A good way to test for potential insensitivity is to imagine writing an etiquette guide for a businessman who is about to meet the President of whatever country you're talking about. How do you describe the different values in a way that allows the businessman to adapt, yet retain the utmost respect for the President?

There are ways to explain cultural differences that is not prejudicial or one-sided or simply ignorant and offensive.

----
Arrogant and proud of it.

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Thursday, November 18, 2010 4:09 AM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up

Organizations like hospitals and medical practices are sort of caught between a rock and a hard place on cultural sensitivity. They're expected to run efficiently, yet at the same time show understanding for different peoples' different view of how things should work. Books like the one mentioned, though admittedly badly written, are a way to deal with this.

Also, I'd bet that there have been hospitals sued for discrimination due to their staffs calling a young black man a negro, chastising a Haitian for being late for an appointment, or telling a Cuban they're too fat. Including training about cultural differences in the curriculum for doctors and nurses is probably also useful in defending against such suits.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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Thursday, November 18, 2010 5:14 AM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

Of course, you could simply call a black man of any age a man (or even use his name), politely remind anyone the importance of being on time, and tell everyone the health risks that come with different weight/fat percentage categories.

The alternative is to tell the old Hatian who lives in Cuba: "Hey Negro, I know your people don't own a watch, so remember to come in when the sun is straight up. Also, I know you think it's Phat to be Fat, but that's not where it's at!"

Sometimes it's possible to do more damage armed with a book of racial stereotypes than it is to go in knowing nothing, but simply treating everyone you meet as a valued individual. We generally don't live in Star Trek, where mispronouncing the Klingon Diplomat's name as PetaQ instead of P'Ittak will cause an international incident.

By the same token, it's not important to know the Thirty-Wonderful flavors of Islam in order to treat a Muslim patient. If you are simply observant and treat each person with respect and consideration as a unique individual, you will achieve much success. I'd argue that such an approach would probably be better than being a cultural expert.

--Anthony

Assured by friends that the signal-to-noise ratio has improved on this forum, I have disabled web filtering.

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Thursday, November 18, 2010 10:32 AM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello,

Of course, you could simply call a black man of any age a man (or even use his name), politely remind anyone the importance of being on time, and tell everyone the health risks that come with different weight/fat percentage categories.

This would work dealing with reasonable people. Unfortunately, there are folks who will consider being reminded to be on time, or to watch their weight, as a slight directed specifically against their cultural norms. It's also necessary to enter a person's race on medical forms as race can be an indicator to look for certain illnesses, sickle-cell for example, and some folk will get upset if the description of their race doesn't conform to their self-descriptor.

Hospitals probably try to do some sort of cultural diversity training for the same reason organizations do sexual harrassment training - so they can point to their efforts to provide a diversity-aware or harrassment-aware environment in case of lawsuit.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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Thursday, November 18, 2010 10:39 AM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

I look forward to the first lawsuit framed thusly:

"My Doctor failed to stress the dangers of my weight because of my race. Racial Bias caused my heart attack!"

--Anthony

Assured by friends that the signal-to-noise ratio has improved on this forum, I have disabled web filtering.

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