Cultural Incompetence

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Cultural Incompetence in the Delivery of Healthcare
I once witnessed a booked primi-gravida woman who came complaining of excruciating labor pains refuse the services of a male birth physician. The midwife who accompanied her expressed that the women needed an instrumental surgery immediately. However, the facility only had a male physician who could conduct an effective procedure. The woman refused to be handled by the male physician. Her husband and the physician insisted that she had to undergo the process immediately because her life and that of the baby were at risk. After the instrumental delivery, she told the midwife that she felt guilty and embarrassed that her husband saw her being handled by a man. She promised that in her subsequent pregnancies, she would not come to the facility.
Admittedly, the facility had limited personnel hence it could not afford to hire more physicians. However, statistics show that women always prefer female birth attendants (Rosetti et al 328). Therefore, I believe that the facility should have ensured measures that provide services that are culturally appropriate and acceptable. For example, being that the facility was in a remote area, they knew the cultural reservations of the community hence they should have ensured that there is a female physician to conduct birth surgeries. Similarly, they should ensure that the rights and dignity of patients are protected according to their wishes (Rosetti et al 333).

The woman did not want the male physician to conduct the surgery. According to the code of ethics in health, patients have a right to give or deny consent to medical procedures and treatment plans. Thus, they should have referred her to a nearby facility that had a male physician instead of imposing a male physician on her.
Works Cited
Rossetti, Zachary, et al. “Developing Collaborative Partnerships With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families During the IEP Process.” Teaching Exceptional Children, vol. 49, no. 5, May 2017, pp. 328–338. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0040059916680103.