As a health care professional, what steps can you take to learn more about your clients’ beliefs, values, and backgrounds in order to provide them with culturally competent care?

Understanding how cultural beliefs and practices affect health and healing is an important aspect of being a health care provider.  Prior to responding to this discussion forum, answer the Cultural Self-Assessment Questions that are listed in Chapter 5 of your course text.  Based on your self-assessment, respond to the following:

a.   As a health care professional, what steps can you take to learn more about your clients’ beliefs, values, and backgrounds in order to provide them with culturally competent care?
b.   In your health care work setting, what steps can you take to overcome barriers and provide care for a patient, if you encounter a cultural practice that you feel is unethical or with which you personally disagree?
c.   How can you develop an informed perspective on the culture?
d.   How can you address a patient’s needs if he or she does not wish to accept care from you because of his or her own cultural beliefs?

Your initial post should be a minimum of 250-300 words.