Cultural Safety Essay – The vision of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023

Assessment Task 1

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).