Each chapter has a different author, many of whom are UCSF nursing staff and faculty, although a number of other institutions are represented as well. And that cannot be achieved without self-awareness, since all health care providers have their own cultural values, belief and communication styles that may be equally ethnocentric and mysterious to patients. This includes European patients, some of whom have a very different concept of liver and heart disease, for example. The following excerpts illustrate just how complicated getting well can be when cultures mix at the bedside. Do not interrupt speaker.
Long pauses are part of conversation.
Respect communicated by avoiding eye contact. Rushing an elder considered rude and very disrespectful. Hmong interpreters employed by hospital or institution considered loyal to hospital and may be distrusted. May be suspicious of health care professional's motives, especially if care provided by students. Vaginal delivery preferred and cesarean section often refused.