The United States is an extremely diverse country. Working in the healthcare sector, you will encounter numerous cultures and beliefs. Consequently, it is the responsibility of healthcare professionals to educate themselves about different cultures. The National Institutes of Health identifies cultural respect as an essential factor in reducing health disparities and improving access to high-quality health care for a diverse group of patients. A lack of knowledge of multiple cultures or a lack of cultural competence can lead to decreased patient satisfaction, a poor healthcare provider-patient relationship, unintentional patient offending, and much more. Considering this, healthcare workers should constantly continue cultural education, to provide comprehensive care. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Since working in healthcare, I have encountered many different cultures. However, I feel that Indian culture is the one I understand the least. The purpose of this piece will be to discuss Indian culture and compare my culture and beliefs to those of Indian culture. I myself am half Caucasian and half Vietnamese. I grew up in a very traditional American family with some Vietnamese influences. I will provide information about Indian culture to incite myself and the reader about Indian values, standards and beliefs by comparing my own. Indians are the group of people who have the nationality and/or citizenship of India. “Indian” is what is used to describe the nationality of that specific population. However, "Indian" does not take into account their ethnicity or language. There are three main ethnic groups of Indians. These three include Indo-Aryans, Dravidians and Mongoloids and other minority groups. As for spoken languages, there is a large variety of languages. There are 22 major languages ​​including: Bengali, Hindi, Maithili, Nepali, Sanskrit, Tamil, Urdu, Assamesse, Dogri, Kannada, Gujarati, Bodo, Manipuri (otherwise known as Meitei), Oriya, Marathi, Santali, Telugu, Punjabi, Sindhi , Malayalam, Konkani and Kashmir. I didn't know how many languages ​​were spoken in India. Not only are there many different languages, but each language has its own alphabet. Most alphabets are written from left to right, rather than right to left as English is written. An interesting note is that the Indian languages ​​Hindi and Urdu are considered two different languages ​​and have two different alphabets. However, their speakers can understand each other perfectly even if each one has a different script. Indians not only speak many languages ​​but also practice many different religions. Major religions include Buddhism, Christians, Hinduism and Islam. The most dominant religion is Hinduism. Hinduism is a religion that believes in Gods and Goddesses. It is one of the oldest religions in the world. Comparing the United States to India, both countries have very different languages ​​and religions. On the other hand, the United States can be seen as a melting pot while India would be considered a salad bowl. I feel like my family dynamic is a great example of how the United States is a melting pot. A melting pot is a concept that refers to a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous with different elements “melting together” into a harmonious whole with a common culture. For example, my family combines traditions of American and Vietnamese culture. I celebrate American holidays as well as Vietnamese ones, whereas India would be considered more of a salad bowl. There are many very different languages ​​and religions. Although these different languages ​​and religions all fall under theIndian culture, each maintain their own beliefs, values ​​and even alphabet without "merging" together into one. Moving forward, I feel the biggest difference between American and Indian culture would be the social issues. India is a hierarchical society. Although India is a political democracy, the concept of complete equality is rarely evident in daily life. Social hierarchy can be seen in caste systems that place people into different "ranks" or "statuses" based on wealth and power. This seems strange to me because I wouldn't assign importance or value to someone based on their wealth or power. I think in the United States, for the most part, everyone is the same. Furthermore, it seems that whatever rank one is born or placed in cannot be changed in his or her lifetime. Jacobson states, “People are born into groups – families, clans, subcastes, castes, and religious communities – and feel a deep sense of inseparability from these groups.” Instead I was taught to be independent and follow my beliefs. I was not raised to believe that I was "born into a group" and expected to remain within that group. Jacobson further goes on to state that: "Psychologically, family members typically experience intense emotional interdependence. Even economic activities are deeply rooted in a social nexus. Almost everywhere a person goes, he can find a relative from whom he can expect moral values ​​and morals". practical support." In this aspect, I can identify with Indian family dynamics. I am extremely attached to my family and would never move away from them. I depend on them a lot. Even though I depend on them mainly on an emotional level for support, I feel having been encouraged to be very independent and do things on their own. Although Indian culture relies so heavily on one's family, people rarely do even the simplest tasks alone. By this nature, Indian families often include extended family The joint family is the most common and has the greatest value. These are families often and ideally made up of multiple generations who live, work, eat and worship together .My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. all live in separate households. However, I can see how multigenerational families would be ideal given the emphasis on family bonds within the culture Indiana. Regarding authority and family harmony, in Indian culture the eldest male serves as the head of the family. The youngest women in the family would have the least authority. In my beliefs and culture, I don't think I was taught that anyone holds a higher rank within our family. Of course we respect elders, but men have no higher value than women. A significant difference between men and women in Indian culture would be women's headscarves, or otherwise known as "purdah". Indian women follow strict rules to cover their bodies and wear modest clothing. “These practices emphasize respectful relationships, limit unapproved encounters, and reinforce family lines of authority.” While women usually dress extremely modestly and non-revealingly, men usually wear the Nehru jacket. A Nehru jacket is a well-tailored, high-collared, button-up style named after Jawaharlal Nehru, former prime minister of India. Even though men and women appear to dress very differently, they both wear jewelry. This jewelry can include everything from toe rings to necklaces, and adorns the forehead with bindis or decorative dots, inred or black. In addition to the bindi or dots, many Indians decorate their hands and feet with henna tattoos. Health care depends greatly on a person's socioeconomic status. In Indian society, socioeconomic status mainly depends on the caste system, occupation, education, possessions, family and gender. The caste system defines the privileges of an individual in Indian society. However, gender plays an even bigger role in a person's socioeconomic status. The main purpose of the Indian woman is to take care of the house, children and her husband. Women rarely work. Great importance is given to women's workload and they are often subservient to their husband. From a health perspective on this topic, Indian women often try to hide when they are sick. Pitlane Magazine states, “A woman's sole purpose in life is to dedicate her life to her husband and children. Due to social views of women across society, an ill woman is less likely to admit she has poor health and seek treatment.” Indian women are under so much pressure to raise children and support their families that they often feel it is necessary to hide their illnesses. I don't believe that gender defines the typical socioeconomic status of the American. I feel like it's based more on job title and wealth. Returning to the healthcare aspect of this topic, I believe that Americans may not seek healthcare due to cost rather than their status within the family. There are many Indian etiquettes and customs that resemble American customs and then there are some that are very different. For example, a very different thing is to eat without cutlery. It is Indian tradition to eat with your hands. They also consider the left hand “impure” and the right hand “clean.” This makes it appropriate to eat only with the right hand. Another different custom is that it would be considered rude to arrive on time. Indians believe it is good manners to arrive 15-20 minutes late. Whereas, normally, I would consider being on time 10-15 minutes early. Indian food includes rice as a staple. Breakfast, lunch and dinner look very different than what I'm used to. A typical Indian breakfast includes a small, light dish of vegetables with a chapati or flatbread. Lunch may include rice, lentils, curry and salad. Dinner is usually heavier and includes various vegetable curries, chicken dishes, lentils, rice, pickles and yogurt. These meals are very different from what I'm used to. Despite being half Vietnamese, we wouldn't normally eat rice for multiple meals throughout the day. Many Indians are vegetarians because they try to minimize harm to other life forms. Cows are also considered sacred because they are honored for their gentle nature. Coming to communication, Indians prefer to keep to themselves with minimal physical contact. They prefer to stay within an arm's length of each other. Direct eye contact for long periods of time may be considered harsh or rude. Indians often tilt their heads from side to side while speaking or shake their heads to show that they agree or understand the conversation at hand. I think personal space is often not as valued in other cultures, people often push their boundaries with physical contact. I also don't think eye contact is a matter of controversy within my beliefs and culture. Of course, staring is rude. But direct eye contact with me would be considered correct and more appropriate during conversations to show attention and listening. As for disagreements, the Indians.