HOSA: Embracing Cultural Awareness

Mohamed Gabir
Littleton
1025003

HOSA: Embracing Cultural Awareness

When any person walks down the street, they always see people of different races. Whether their race be African American, white, or European, it will always be something different. This melting pot in which the American society lives in is present because of America’s forefathers who came to this land in order to establish equality. Their goal was to build a nation that would be able to have liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness. In order to do so, the citizens of today have to make it work. In the Webster’s New World Dictionary, culture is defined as “the skills, art, etc. of a given people in a given period.” In the United States culture will vary and it is the responsibility of each one of America’s occupants to respect the other’s culture and be sensitive to it. Cultural sensitivity is a vital part of being an American citizen because America embraces many cultures, many jobs in the health care field require cultural sensitivity and is a key factor in the future of this glorious country.

Since the times people started immigrating to the United States, cultural awareness was and is a hot topic of decision. Starting in the 19th century, many foreigners from Europe, Asia and South America came to America to start a new life. To the outside world, the United States was a “land of opportunity”. The moment they arrived, white folks discriminated them in many ways. For example, the Gentlemen’s agreement didn’t even allow Chinese to come to America until it was lifted 50 years later. These kind of acts prevented generations of families from around the world from leaving the oppressed lands that they came from. Today cultural sensitivity is a whole different story. Everyone has an equal opportunity of becoming what they want and how they want to achieve it. Fifty years ago, African Americans were lynched because of their skin color. Today an African American, Barack Obama, leads this great nation. There should not be a vice that someone is born with that will hamper their dreams.

In today’s society, many jobs, including health care require an open mind about cultures. Since America is filled with many different backgrounds, a health care professional must be prepared to treat any person. The goal of a doctor or nurse is to keep the patients’ priorities first and that includes their culture. If they are not prepared, a health care professional can not complete their job. For example, in Islam, women prefer not to be treated by men doctors. If they keep this in mind, a doctor would therefore send a female doctor thereby satisfying both the doctor’s and patient’s requirements. On the other hand, if a doctor continues to push for a male doctor for convenience, the patient might refuse. Simple things like these will make everybody’s life easier as long as they know. Martin Luther King Jr. pushed for these ideals through his speeches and actions. He envisioned a day where blacks and white were not segregated and everybody would be equal. He wanted his children to be able to live without persecution.

A major step that needs to be taken in order to have a culturally sensitive America is to teach these morals to young adults. An old saying is that “the apple will never fall from the apple tree.” This means that adults of today need instill the right ideas in their children so that they will pick up those same morals. There is no such thing as a magically tolerant society without any work. These needs to be action taken so that America will be on the right path. Many scientists assert that most of the person’s ideologies are found within their childhood. That is why is important to teach teenagers about cultural sensitivity. America will fall back to primordial times if they are not educated now. No one wants to repeat history and is the reason why America has become a great nation.

A keystone of being an American is the realization of cultural sensitivity because the United States is the melting pot of the globe, healthcare careers require it in order to be successful and is the road to a brighter future in America. The United States have a far way from 1775 and the journey is not over yet. In order to stay as the most influential superpower in the world, America has to better themselves in understanding everything around. Organizations like HOSA are bringing their people to that goal. One day, the United States of America will be known in history as the nation that brought the whole world together. It is possible but will take a lot of work. All it takes is motivation, hard work and a little love.