Health Care Reflection Paper

This reflection analyses cultural and spiritual needs of patients in the healthcare setting. I choose to reflect in this area of holistic care due to an experience I encountered during my time on medical placement.

I was asked to accompany a female patient to the x-ray department by a staff nurse on the ward. I had not been directly involved in the patients care, as it was my first week on this particular ward. Due to this, I was not familiar with the patients’ history or reason for admission to the ward. The staff nurse briefly mentioned to me that this lady was Irish, had married a Muslim gentleman, and converted her religion from Roman Catholic to Muslim. I was informed she had requested to be looked after by only female nurses during her stay in hospital, as this was part of her religious & cultural belief system. For me, this felt like very relevant information about the lady, and I recognized that I needed to respect the patients’ wishes, and provide the best care for her as possible.

On entering the room, I initially noticed that she was in a six-bedded ward that had both female and male patients occupying it. At the time, I did not think that this was in anyway strange, as it would be very common on this particular ward to have mixed gender rooms. The curtain was pulled around this lady’s bed, so I entered, kept the

The Health Services Intercultural Guide (HSE 2009) outlines that there are five pillars in the Islamic religion. Some of these have implications for practice in healthcare and we, as nurses, should look after these as best as we can. Cleanliness is stressed within the culture. Washing before prayer, before eating and after toileting is essential, and healthcare staff should ensure a basin of water be available by the bedside for patients unable to mobilize to the bathroom. During my interaction with the patient, I did not notice any water by her