Culture and Clinical Care

As a former RN and now a hospital chaplain in Portland, OR, this book is invaluable for ALL staff members. However, always remember these are guidelines, so we MUST determine how a patient/family appropriates their own tradition and culture. A great resource for faith traditions (including those traditions where faith and culture are intricately intertwined) is "How to Be a Perfect Stranger" (Vols. 1 & 2). These three books together are imperative resources for any and all working in a clinical setting.

I work in mental health myself with people from a wide variety of cultures. This book is IMMENSELY helpful. It provides information on dozens of cultures. It is well-organized and easy to look up facts i need. For instance, how do people in a given culture view death? birth? How do they express themselves non-verbally? etc. This is a must-have book for people who work in a multicultural environment. My only critique is that I wish they covered more of the groups in my area, and more groups in general. FOr instance, it would be helpful to have chapters on Latter Day Saints, Somalis, Hassidic or Orthodox Jews. I wonder how they chose which groups to include and which to exclude--I wish the book were even more comprehensive. But that's a minor critique because I just cannot praise this book enough. Each chapter is written by a person or people from the given culture discussed. This book is supremely respectful. Bravo!