Cultural Safety Essay
Assessment name: Cultural Safety Essay
Task description: The vision of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Plan 2013-2023 is:
“The Australian health system is free of racism and inequality and all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have access to health
services that are effective, high quality, appropriate and affordable”
(Australian Government, 2013, p. 7).
For health professionals to be effective agents in realising this vision they
are required to be culturally safe practitioners, who are literate in the
dynamics of race and racism and their impacts on well-being.
Furthermore, health professionals must be knowledgeable of the
historical and political influences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples’ well-being.
This reflective assignment requires you to first demonstrate your
understanding of the key concepts associated with cultural safety,
and then apply them to context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’ health and well-being.
In this assessment you will be required to utilise the 5Rs Reflection
Framework to discuss changes in your thoughts and feelings throughout
the initial learning process. Furthermore, discuss the application of
culturally safety to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’
health and well-being context from a profession and individual
perspective.
Learning outcomes 1. Apply the principles of cultural safety to the context of Aboriginal
assessed: peoples and Torres Strait Islanders’ health and well-being to analyse and
advance your current position on the continuum of cultural safety.
2. Describe historical, social, and political issues and how they inform
current experiences of health and well-being, in order to realise
their significance as determinants of current health and well-being
of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.
3. Discover the everyday experiences of Aboriginal peoples and Torres
Strait Islanders that inform their health care and apply this knowledge
to facilitate effective partnerships with individuals, families, and
communities.
What you need to do: Respond to the follow assessment tasks:
Step 1
Demonstrate your understanding of the following concepts:
a) Compare and contrast personal racism and systemic/institutional
racism (200 words).
b) Briefly discuss the power dynamics associated with the whiteness
of nursing (100 words).
c) Compare and contrast cultural safety and cultural awareness
training (200 words).
Page 2 of 7
Step 2 (100 words)
In accordance with the 5Rs of Reflection Framework, report and
respond to one (1) assumption that you became aware of through
developing new knowledge and understanding from the readings,
learning activities and reflective process.
Step 3 (400 words)
Discuss historical (including political) factors that contributed to
institutional racism and white privilege, particularly in regards to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ access to health care,
education and employment.
Step 4 (300 words)
Discuss how culturally safe nursing practice may challenge personal and
institutional racism that impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples’ access to health care.
Step 5 (500 words)
In accordance with the 5Rs of Reflection Framework, reflect on your
reactions (feeling and thoughts) to the learning materials (required and
recommended readings, videos, lectures and tutorial material). Report,
respond, relate, reason and reconstruct your perception of:
a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and well-being; (250
words).
b) your role in ensuring cultural safe nursing care for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples (250 words).
Length: 1800 words +/-10% (word length includes in-text referencing and
excludes your reference list and appendices).
Estimated time to 30 hours
complete task:
Weighting: 40 %
Individual/Group: Individual
Presentation Your responses to the assessment tasks must adhere to the prescribed
requirements: formatting.
Format of assignment: Your assignment should be written in first-person
Page 3 of 7
style and prepared as follows:
• Has a cover sheet with the assessment title, your name, student
number, tutor name and total word count. Coversheet template is
recommended and available on your Blackboard site.
• Include a ‘footer’ on each page with your name, student number,
unit code and page number.
• 3cm margins on all sides, and double-spaced text.
• Times New Roman, font size 12.
• APA style referencing
• Include a complete reference list on a new page.
• Headings can be used for each step.
• Include the word count for each step.
•
What you need to One word document that contains the following items: submit:
1. Assignment Cover Sheet & your response to the assessment
tasks (above) written as per the presentation requirements
(above).
Resources needed to • Week 1 – 5 required and recommended readings,
complete task: videos, lectures and tutorial material.
• 5Rs Reflection Framework
•
•
Page 4 of 7
Reflective Framework
This framework will enhance the quality of your reflections, the personal
entries that you choose to elaborate on in your assessment, your thinking
skills, your learning and your practice.
There are several different reflection models that can be used to guide the
writing of your reflections. One of the most popular reflection models is the 5 R’s
framework.
Reporting | Responding | Relating | Reasoning | Reconstructing
The table below provides exemplars that apply each of the Rs of the 5Rs
Reflection Framework.
Steps Content of Exemplar
reflection
Reporting What happened, what did I’ve been going to the lecture and tutorials for
the situation /issue 2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander A brief descriptive involve?
. It’s not what I was account of a expecting. situation/issue (i.e. the
reflective trigger)
Responding Your observations, Concepts like ‘racism’ and ‘cultural safety’
Your emotional/ feelings, questions about promote ideas that are unknown to me, which
the situation/ issue makes me feel that they are not real issues. As personal response to for ‘whiteness’ and ‘white privilege’, these are the situation issue etc. concepts that make me feel uncomfortable.
Relating Making connections I thought that this unit was about learning
Personal and/or between the about the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres
theoretical situation/issue and your Strait Islander peoples in order to help them
understandings relevant experience, skills, better once I am a registered nurse. Instead
to the situation/ issue knowledge and there is consistent emphasis on learning my
understanding own culture. I didn’t think that my culture was
an important factor to consider.
Reasoning Explaining the situation/ I hadn’t thought about how powerful the
Your explanation of the issue in terms of the medical profession is in Australia and how
significant factors, much their perspective influences nursing and situation/ issue relevant theory and/or what I will have to do at work (Willis & Elmer
experience 2011).
Reconstructing Your deeper level of Apparently my culture and that of biomedicine
Drawing conclusions understanding about the and the health care system has strong impacts
situation/issue that is on people’s health outcomes (Willis & Elmer and developing a future used to 2011). Importantly, Aboriginal and Torres action plan reframe/reconstruct your Strait Islander peoples are often
future practice and further disadvantaged by these due to the inherent
develop your systemic/institutional racism (Sherwood &
understanding of Geia, 2014). When I think about it I can see
professional practice that the system is set up and benefits those
who control it and have the most power within
it.
Adapted from NSB102 Assignment 1 (Cox, 2017). Source of the 5 Rs: Bain, J.D., Ballantyne, R., Mills, C., and
Lester, N. C., (2002). Reflecting on practice: Student teachers’ perspectives. Post Pressed, Flaxton, Qld.
Page 5 of 7
Task 1 Rubric
Name: Cultural Safety Essay
Learning outcomes assessed:. Weighting: 40 %
Criteria 7 6 5 4 3 2 – 1
Theoretical Demonstrates Demonstrates a strong Demonstrates a sound Demonstrates an adequate Demonstrates partial Demonstrates limited to no understanding comprehensive understanding of key understanding of key understanding of key concepts understanding of key understanding of key
Weighting: 30% understanding of key concepts genuinely based concepts based on learning based on learning material. concepts and little use of concepts and showed little concepts genuinely on learning material. material. the learning material. evidence of completing
LO: 1,2. based on learning and utilising any of the material. learning material.
Application of Demonstrate Demonstrate strong Demonstrate sound Demonstrate adequate Made general about the Demonstrate limited to no knowledge comprehensive understanding of the understanding of the understanding of the application of key understanding of the
Weighting: 30% understanding of the application of key application of key concepts to application of key concepts to concepts to the application of key application of key concepts to the Aboriginal the Aboriginal and Torres the Aboriginal and Torres Aboriginal and Torres concepts to the Aboriginal
LO: 1,2,3. concepts to the and Torres Strait Islander Strait Islander peoples’ health Strait Islander peoples’ health Strait Islander peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal and Torres peoples’ health context. context. context. health context. peoples’ health context.
Strait Islander peoples’
health context.
Demonstrate Demonstrated critical Demonstrated deep Demonstrated sound Demonstrated adequate Partially demonstrate self- Demonstrated limited to reflection on your reflection on one reflection on one personal reflection on one personal reflection on one personal reflection. no reflection on learning
learning and the personal assumption assumption that was assumption that was assumption that was Made general and implication for implications for that was emphasised or emphasised or challenged emphasised or challenged by emphasised or challenged by practice. observations in response
practice challenged by new by new knowledge gained new knowledge gained in this new knowledge gained in this to the assessment tasks. knowledge gained in this in this unit. unit. unit.
Weighting: 30% unit. Demonstrated deep Demonstrated sound Demonstrated adequate
LO: 1,2,3.
Demonstrated critical reflection on personal reflection on personal reflection on personal
reflection on personal perceptions of: perceptions of: perceptions of:
perceptions of:
• Aboriginal and Torres • Aboriginal and Torres • Aboriginal and Torres Strait
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ Strait Islander peoples’ Islander peoples’ health and
Strait Islander health and well-being; health and well-being; and, well-being; and,
peoples’ health and and, • the individual role in • the individual role in delivery well-being; and, • the individual role in delivery culturally safe care culturally safe care to
• the individual role in delivery culturally safe to Aboriginal and Torres Aboriginal and Torres Strait
delivery culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Strait Islander peoples. Islander peoples.
care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islander peoples.
peoples.
Page 6 of 7
Communication in • Accurately met all • Met most aspects of • Met several aspects of • Met few aspects of • Met limited aspects of • Ignored presentation
writing incorporating presentation presentation presentation requirements. presentation requirements. presentation requirements, and
expected information requirements. requirements. • Mostly used professional • Sometimes used requirements. APA referencing
literacy standards • Consistently used • Almost always used non-discriminatory professional non- • Rarely used conventions.
•
Weighting: 10%
professional non- professional non- language. discriminatory language. professional non- Rarely used
discriminatory discriminatory • Generally correctly applied • Sometimes applied discriminatory professional nonlanguage.
language. APA style of APA style of referencing language. discriminatory
• • • language. Consistently and Almost always applied referencing. correctly. Rarely applied
accurately applied APA style of • • Mostly expressed ideas • Expressed ideas clearly. APA style of APA style of referencing. referencing correctly. clearly. referencing. • Sound spelling and • Expressed ideas clearly • Ideas were not clearly •
•
Mostly accurate spelling grammar. Expressed ideas and fluently. expressed. • Attempted to and grammar. clearly, concisely and • Kept to word limit. • • Was under or over the communicate your Almost always accurate fluently with accurate • Kept to word limit. ideas in writing. spelling and grammar. required word limit. spelling and grammar. •
• Kept to word limit. Was significantly under • Kept to word limit. or over the required
word limit.
Page 7 of 7