The Ultimate Goal

What? Over the course of our three readings, it is stressed that the experiences we gain from others is a valuable resource which grants us wisdom. As we proceed through life, we will find that there should be a delicate balance between what we learn and how we apply it in practice. In an excerpt from We Make the Road by Walking, Paulo Freire and Myles Horton agree that the link between theory, practice, and knowledge are important factors when determining which path society takes as a whole. If you wish to foster change and challenge the status quo, then you must first understand what change you wish to see. Once you have developed a theory to help you decide, this provides a steady foundation which allow you to practice your ideas. From here, you gain knowledge as you apply your theories through practice, everchanging and constantly developing the more we build off of what we know. “Knowledge is changed to the extent that reality also moves and changes. Then theory also does the same” (Freire & Horton, 1990, p. 101).

This relationship between theory, practice, and knowledge can be seen in “Close Encounters of the Human Kind”. As a physician, Abraham Verghese understood all the ailments that plagued the Katrina refugees in 2005. In theory, helping and healing these patients was straightforward enough; address the problem, and the symptoms will go away with time. Yet try as it may, practice and theory are not the same thing. In practice, Verghese was able to apply the raw human interaction and willingness to show vulnerability that could not be taught, but was necessary for healing. “Driving home, I remembered my own metaphor of strapping on armor for the night shift. The years have shown that there is no armor. There never was. The willingness to be wounded may be all we have to offer” (Verghese, 2005, para.13).

So What? This balance is especially true in regards to broader terms such as cultural humility. The principles of cultural humility were implemented after a nurse overlooked the pain of a Hispanic patient due to her self-proclaimed “cultural competence”. The original founders wished to counter this mindset and instead drive forward the framework of equity, equality, and respect we should all strive towards. To partake in cultural humility, you must remember three important key principals. 1) You must engage in lifelong learning through critical self-reflection and respect. 2) You must recognize and challenge power imbalances within the community. 3) We must strive for institutional accountability. Healthcare faculty cannot teach issues of culture and race could not be taught, so instead time must be spent with community members to identify and address unjust power structures in place today. While “cultural competence” implies a topic that can be mastered and debated upon, cultural humility is a tool or philosophy that can be implemented to learn from as we face unique situations.

As we compare readings, we are reminded of the importance of expression and allowing others share their voice. Often times, we’re so busy talking and trying to persuade the world to listen to us that we forget to genuinely listen in return. The Cultural Humility video describes silence as immobilizing, and nobody should have to feel like they don’t have the right to speak in a way that best expresses their thoughts. “There’s no right I could claim that anybody else in the world can’t claim, and I have to fight for their exercising that right just like I have to fight for my own. That doesn’t mean I have to impose my ideas on people, but it means I have a responsibility to provide whatever light I can on the subject and share my ideas with people” (Freire & Horton, 1990, p. 105).

However, some people may choose not to use their voice willingly in an attempt to remain neutral. But in these instances of social issues, neutrality becomes more of a burden as it ignores the evident problems for fear of standing out and instead chooses to look the other way, pretending not to see the injustices before it. If anything, to show empathy rather than sympathy should be the first step towards sparking change. Verghese provides a good example of this when interacting with his patients. In his time serving those in need, he practiced the first key principle of cultural humility — learning and self-reflection. By taking the time to stop and truly listen to them, he showed that was willing to stop what he was doing and see them for the complicated, multidimensional human beings with a voice, rather than another statistic during disaster. “But as the night wore on, I understood that they needed me to ask; to not ask was to not honor their ordeal” (Verghese, 2005, para. 5). Without such empathy, we miss too many details through our narrow field of vision and fail to see the perspective of others.

Now What? After the reading, I feel like I have a better understanding on the key differences between cultural humility and cultural competence. In the long run, it would be more effective to remember and constantly practice the three principles of cultural humility to promote respect and leave a lasting impact on the diverse groups within our community. “In other words, I cannot fight for a freer society if at the same time I don’t respect the knowledge of the people” (Freire & Horton, 1990, p. 101). Personally, I think the first step I should take to practice cultural humility would be to abandon my “neutral” stance in most topics. Rather than look away, I need to learn to recognize the injustices around me, because I know they’re there. And while confrontation is definitely frightening, the time I spend listening to others and reflecting upon my experiences as a result will only help me learn.