THE INFLUENCE OF RACISM ON CLINICAL REASONING AND COMPETENCE OF NURSES
Keywords:
racism, clinical reasoning, nurses, cultural competence, ethnic groupsAbstract
The influence of racism on the clinical reasoning of nurses is a key factor affecting the quality of healthcare provided. Social constructs built through cultural stereotypes and socialization can shape prejudices that unconsciously impact the professional decisions of healthcare providers. Structural racism in healthcare persists and leads to unequal treatment of patients from different ethnic groups. This study aims to analyze the impact of racism on clinical reasoning and competence among nurses in the Blagoevgrad region. It involves 69 nurses, assessed through an adapted questionnaire by (Bacheva, 2024), based on the NCRS scale by (Liou et al., 2016). The questions are evaluated on a 5 point Likert scale, allowing for the examination of their professional objectivity and cultural sensitivity. The average age of the participants is 43,67 ± 9,62 years, with 34,78% having over 20 years of work experience. The data shows a high level of cultural competence, particularly regarding impartial health information gathering, regardless of the patient's race or ethnicity (4,61). However, the results reveal areas for improvement, such as explaining diseases and symptoms in a cultural context (3,30). While the nurses demonstrate objectivity in diagnosing and managing clinical priorities, challenges are observed in integrating culturally sensitive interventions. The results highlight the need for additional training for nurses, focused on cultural competence and addressing implicit biases, in order to improve the quality of healthcare for patients from diverse ethnic groups.
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