A Different Culture - July 14, 2017

Some of the biggest issues that the Cherokee Indian culture fights still today on a daily basis is racism and stigmas, but the interesting thing I found from my experiences in Cherokee is that most of the racism and criticism comes from the closest surrounding communities, not the outside world (like people like us). From a medical standpoint, the Cherokee Indian Hospital (CIH) sees patients with diabetes, substance abuse issues, and people who choose to be noncompliant with their healthcare regimen on a daily basis. I believe that most of these, if not all, are caused by the noncompliance of patients; which is not to say that there is lack of education to the patients’ from the medical professionals, I observed many patients’ choosing to not care or to not listen to their nurse and or physician when being educated on their condition or illness. For example, while observing a female accompanying her boyfriend, who was the patient, in the ER and talking to a physician, she was asked of she smoked and she stated yes, but only two cigarettes per day. The woman was pregnant and her boyfriend has diabetes, which are two situations that should not be involved with smoking. The physician asked if she was going to quit smoking after explaining the harmful effects it can have on people with diabetes and babies in utero and she clearly stated no (Cherokee Indian Hospital Observation, 2017). The nurse’s role is to educate the patient as best as possible in a way that she or he will understand for their developmental stage and mental state of mind. I truly believe that all medical professionals practicing at CIH have the patients’ best interest at heart. I observed the patients being given quality and safe care and they seem to be at the center of the healthcare system, because without patients there would not be a healthcare system because the medical professionals wouldn’t have anyone to care for. I believe truly in my heart that most nurses in the world want to care for people because they choose this profession and it takes a lot of hard work and education to become a nurse to throw it away and not care about your career and the people you care for; therefor I see Cherokee Indian Hospital running just like every other hospital in the United States with the same intentions, only a slightly smaller and more condensed racial population.

Cherokee Indian Hospital. (2017).