This blog post is a writing assignment for MAST 1060: Medical Office Procedures, part of the Health Care Management (HC23) Associate of Applied Science Degree program at Southern Crescent Technical College.
I have experienced and interacted with Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Indian, and Japanese people in Jackson. They were students in school with me or were coworkers, so I picked these cultures to research. I will conduct research dominantly using a textbook about healthcare communication from a previous course to review the qualities of these cultures. Greeting, eye contact, and personal space are three main categories that could impact communication and providing health care (McCorry, 2020, p. 123-25).
Latino cultures are similar to one another but have differences. They are generally warm and friendly cultures. Brazilian and Puerto Rican cultures greet with a handshake, and people like to stand close together while talking. Individuals from the Puerto Rican culture may even be offended if you back away. The two cultures differ in their view of eye contact. Brazilians think sustained direct eye contact is essential, while Puerto Ricans feel it is disrespectful (McCorry, 2020, p. 124) (French, 2019, 4-3f). Another significant cultural difference with Latinos that could impact healthcare is the cultural norm of arriving significantly late. This quality could cause chaos in a doctor’s office or anger a Latino patient if the staff turns away the patient for that day or charges a fee despite the patient having an appointment (Carteret, 2011).
Like Latino cultures, Asian cultures also share similarities with one another. Japanese and Indian cultures prefer a greeting with a bow rather than a Western handshake. Both cultures view sustained direct eye contact negatively. Individuals from the Japanese culture feel it is uncomfortable, and individuals from the Indian culture feel it is disrespectful. However, these cultures differ in their view of personal space. Individuals from the Indian culture prefer to stand closely, while those from the Japanese culture prefer a large amount of space (McCorry, 2020, p. 123) (French, 2019, 4-3f). Health care workers should note that Asian cultures tend to embrace alternative medicine. In Japan, acupuncture and herbal medicine are an ordinary way of life, and medical insurance even covers them (Suzuki, 2004).
I admire the Japanese culture. I prefer a lot of personal space and do not like to be touched, so I can identify with and like these qualities within the Japanese culture. The Japanese will shake hands with Americans despite preferring to bow. This quality acknowledges a culture that is different from theirs and demonstrates some flexibility when interacting with the people of that culture (McCorry, 2020, p. 123) (French, 2019, 4-3f).
References
Carteret, M. (2011, Mar. 15). Cultural Values of Latino Patients and Families. Dimensions of Culture. https://www.dimensionsofculture.com/2011/03/cultural-values-of-latino-patients-and-families/
French, L. L. (2018). Administrative Medical Assisting. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
McCorry, L. K. & Mason, J. (2020). Communication Skills for the Healthcare Professional. (2nd ed.). Baltomore, MD: Wolters Kluwer.
Suzuki, N. (2004, Sep.). Complementary and Alternative Medicine: a Japanese Perspective. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC516460/
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