WEEK 15 Flashcards
As a group, Filipino nurses are well liked because they are hardworking. They place high value on responsibility and seldom complain. “Many [Filipino nurses] work nights, holidays and/or overtime. So, during this time of nursing shortage, one can rely on a Filipino nurse to volunteer to cover the shift”. It is not unusual to find Filipino nurses who work two jobs. The financial rewards, job security, and personal advancement that U.S. jobs provide to Filipino nurses are valued.
Work Ethic
Filipino nurses are very religious people. There is a deep faith in God that is reflected in the expression of bahala na “it is up to God” or “leave it to God.” This tends to be incorrectly equated with an expression of fatalism and a passive acceptance of or resignation to fate. Bahala na may also apply to acceptance of illness or malady.
Spirituality
Unmarried Filipino nurses recoil at the question, “Are you pregnant?” when they go for a medical checkup. Because the Philippine society considers sexual relationships not to occur outside of marriage, it seems odd to them that they would be questioned, although they are aware that this is part of a routine health assessment. Filipinos are generally sensitive and equally sensitive to the feelings of others, so they try to find a way to say things diplomatically.
Sensitivity
Filipinos are generally quiet. Very conservative families do not allow their younger members to join the conversation of adults without an invitation. They are sometimes hesitant to articulate their views, especially if it is different from the majority, as it might indicate discordance with the team or group. Engaging in arguments, especially with someone who is older or holds an authority position, is considered uncivilized. Filipinos also have difficulty turning down requests from supervisors to whom they feel obligated.
Interpersonal Relationships
One’s position in society, professional achievements, and age carry a lot of weight in the Philippine society. Physicians, lawyers, priests, engineers, teachers, and nurses are among the well-respected professionals in the Philippines. Hence, their opinion is generally accepted without question. Filipino values and traditions provide a framework for conduct and mode of communication.
Because of a high regard for the elderly and authority, Filipinos tend not to oppose or contradict other views for fear of embarrassing the other party. “Filipinos generally are neither assertive nor aggressive and may often appear guarded or reticent. Nurses often misunderstand this need for passivity and do not appreciate the culturally induced motivation to maintain harmonious balance between man and nature”
Respect and Reverence
Filipino nurses find it uncomfortable to accept even a well-deserved compliment. For example, if someone gives a complement like, “Your dress is beautiful!” the answer might be, “Not really. I bought it cheap.” Or if someone says, “You are so knowledgeable,” the answer might be, “Not really, I just happen to know it.” Yet they are proud of their accomplishments in a sort of quiet way. As a result, many have culture-based barriers to marketing themselves
Modesty
Respect is integrated in the Filipino language. Reference to the elderly is the use of the third person. Hence, when spoken to assertively in a direct way, Filipinos feel offended. There is no gender differentiation in the Filipino language. Although they are fully aware of the male and female genders, their native language is what hinders them from precisely using he or she in spoken English. Frequently, this leads to confusion.
Language
Filipino nurses have strong family ties. While in the United States, their close friends become their family members. As a result, they perpetuate the cultural burden (as a downside) thus making it more difficult and taking them longer to assimilate into the mainstream culture of their adopted country. They tend to eat the same food and mingle with individuals of the same ethnic background.
Close Family Ties
Because most of their time is devoted to work, going for preventive health checkups takes a backseat. Yet, one may hear a Filipino extolling the importance of preventive health to her patients or clients. Filipino nurses have a tendency to self-diagnose, self-medicate, and seek alternative therapies. In rural areas in the Philippines, people go for Hilot for relief of pain and aches instead of seeking medical attention. In an alternative context, Hilot may refer to a practitioner or the practice of chiropractic manipulation and massage for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoligamentous and musculoskeletal ailments.
Preventive Health
Three concepts underlie Filipino American health beliefs and practices: flushing, heating, and protection. Each identifies a basic process used to promote good health. Flushing keeps the body free from debris, heating maintains a balanced internal temperature, and protection guards the body from outside influences. Although Western and scientific concepts are similar, Filipino theories are founded on different premises. Flushing is based on the notion that the body is a container that collects impurities, heating means that hot and cold qualities must be balanced in the body, and protection involves safeguarding the body’s boundaries from supernatural as well as natural forces.
Home Remedies
Generally speaking, Filipino nurses have a high tolerance to pain. For example, one of the author’s sisters has severe arthritis, yet she continues to do housework regardless of her pain. Filipino nurses normally use home remedies such as liniments and topical ointments and manage pain before seeking medical care or while under medical treatment. Health care providers need to probe more into the cause and degree of pain from Filipino patients to elicit more information. The elderly group, in particular, is unlikely to complain about their pain because they do not want to have extra burdens being imposed on caregivers
Pain Tolerance
Filipinos are mostly reserved and private people. As patients, they may not readily reveal their personal and health information. Women in particular are sensitive to touching another individual as well as being touched. “Young female service providers should practice discretion with regard to touching older Filipino male patients such as laying one’s hand on the patient’s hand or shoulder to reassure comfort in moments of distress”
Privacy
The body is thought to be a vessel or container that collects and eliminates impurities through physiological processes such as sweating, vomiting, expelling gas, or having an appropriate volume of menstrual bleeding.
Flushing
Adapts the concept of balanced between “hot” and “cold” to prevent occurrence of illness and disorders.
Heating
Safeguards the body’s boundaries from outside influences such as supernatural and natural forces.
Protection
