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Josie is a public health nursing student completing her final clinical hours before graduating. She and a classmate have been volunteering in a school-based clinic. The school nurse has invited Josie to join her on a home visit to check up on a student who has just given birth. Josie uses the GPS on her smartphone to find the apartment; it is located in a part of the city she normally avoids. She carefully locks her car and joins the school nurse in the apartment lobby. The client answers the buzzer, and they are invited upstairs to the apartment. The unfamiliar hallway lighting and smells cause Josie to proceed cautiously. She hopes to focus on what the school nurse accomplishes rather than on her own feelings of discomfort.
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JOSIE'S NOTEBOOK: COMPETENCY #10 Demonstrates Nonjudgmental/Unconditional Acceptance of People Different from Self
Listens to others in an unbiased, respectful manner
Promotes the expression of diverse opinions and perspectives
Identifies the role of diverse factors when selecting or designing public health interventions tailored to specific individuals, communities, or systems
Interacts respectfully, sensitively, and effectively with individuals, families, and communities
Source: Henry Street Consortium, 2017
USEFUL DEFINITIONS Acceptance: “To consider their patients’ culture and incorporate it in care” (Cioffi, 2003, p. 305) and the “respect of another's individual person and self-defined reality” (Porr, 2005, p. 189).
Nonjudgmental: “Being open to understanding cultural uniqueness and respect for individuals” (Pasco, Morse, & Olson, 2004, p. 239). A nurse describes being nonjudgmental as she sought to “establish a… communion into which I enter having cleansed myself of harmful bias through honest self-reflection; and, in which I exude humility and openness” (Porr, 2005, p. 195).
Unconditional: “A form of respect that involves profoundness of feeling, treasuring, warm regard, [and] solicitous concern” (Dillon, 1992, p. 120).
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Activity
Consider the following questions about Josie's situation:
What are some of the fears or worries Josie might be experiencing in this or other situations that are different for her?
What are some things that might have helped Josie prepare for the “discomfort” that can often be experienced during home visits?
What does Josie need to know or understand to help her work with clients who do not have similar lifestyles and cultural habits?
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They Do Not Live Like I Do
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Public health nursing is similar to other areas of nursing when it comes to valuing the ability to deliver nursing care in a nonjudgmental, accepting manner. A public health nurse (PHN) is often a guest, invited into the client's space, such as in the home, and this situation provides endless opportunities for a nurse's acceptance of others to be tested, confirmed, or challenged. A PHN might work with a faith community to offer blood pressure screening that might require the nurse to work alongside others with different values or beliefs. ...