Post by Dine'Luvlee on Sept 1, 2005 0:06:37 GMT -5
AChinese woman in a hospital demanded a different room because she did not like the position of her bed.
When the nurse told her beds were in the same place in every room, the woman said she could not stay and got up to leave. The nurse did not know that in this woman's culture, lying in bed with her feet pointed toward the door meant she would not leave the room alive.
This example, given by an intercultural relations expert, has become a teaching moment in cultural training circles. And such efforts have made their way to multicultural West Michigan, where more than 50 languages and dialects are spoken
Even those with the best intentions blunder when they are ignorant of cultural traditions. That is the reason those who work in health care, education and law enforcement in the Grand Rapids area are training to better serve people of many cultures.
Some local examples of cultural misunderstandings include a Grand Rapids teacher with the last name of Bacon who made students' name tags in the shape of a pig. She had no idea this would offend a Bosnian Muslim family that considered pork unclean.
A local police officer seeking information from a neighbor erred when he talked to a young woman who answered the door instead of asking for her grandmother, the head of the household, according to a Grand Rapids police training officer.
An American Indian woman in Allegan County who placed a spirit box atop her daughter's grave in May was deeply hurt when Clyde Township officials said she must remove it because it violated cemetery regulations. However, the officials reconsidered when they learned the small house -- with an opening for her daughter's spirit to come and go -- was part of American Indian tradition.
Health care, education, law enforcement
These misunderstandings may be perceived as disrespect, widening the gap between racial and ethnic groups. But it goes beyond that, diversity experts say:
When people believe they are not treated with respect at a hospital or doctor's office, they likely will stay away until they have a costly emergency. This causes racial disparity in life expectancy and in death rates from preventable diseases. And it raises health-care costs for everyone.
When the nurse told her beds were in the same place in every room, the woman said she could not stay and got up to leave. The nurse did not know that in this woman's culture, lying in bed with her feet pointed toward the door meant she would not leave the room alive.
This example, given by an intercultural relations expert, has become a teaching moment in cultural training circles. And such efforts have made their way to multicultural West Michigan, where more than 50 languages and dialects are spoken
Even those with the best intentions blunder when they are ignorant of cultural traditions. That is the reason those who work in health care, education and law enforcement in the Grand Rapids area are training to better serve people of many cultures.
Some local examples of cultural misunderstandings include a Grand Rapids teacher with the last name of Bacon who made students' name tags in the shape of a pig. She had no idea this would offend a Bosnian Muslim family that considered pork unclean.
A local police officer seeking information from a neighbor erred when he talked to a young woman who answered the door instead of asking for her grandmother, the head of the household, according to a Grand Rapids police training officer.
An American Indian woman in Allegan County who placed a spirit box atop her daughter's grave in May was deeply hurt when Clyde Township officials said she must remove it because it violated cemetery regulations. However, the officials reconsidered when they learned the small house -- with an opening for her daughter's spirit to come and go -- was part of American Indian tradition.
Health care, education, law enforcement
These misunderstandings may be perceived as disrespect, widening the gap between racial and ethnic groups. But it goes beyond that, diversity experts say:
When people believe they are not treated with respect at a hospital or doctor's office, they likely will stay away until they have a costly emergency. This causes racial disparity in life expectancy and in death rates from preventable diseases. And it raises health-care costs for everyone.
