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An army nurse in Korea: why cultural awareness is important caring for patients.

Article Excerpt
Military nurses are sent to various assignments in other parts of the world throughout their careers. The military often sends service members and family members to classes to learn simple phrases, customs, and an appreciation of the diverse aspects of the country and people that the service members will be encountering. As a result of the ongoing security situation between North and South Korea, many U.S. service members currently are stationed in South Korea. I was one of those service members, and for a year and a half I served at the 121st Combat Support Hospital in Seoul, Korea.

I was fortunate because while stationed at the "121," I was assigned to be the preceptor of a Republic of Korea Army Nurse named Captain (CPT) Hyung Yi Kim. Captain Kim was an outstanding nurse, and it was CPT Kim who taught me how important it was to know the Korean patient's culture (see Figure 1). For example, CPT Kim taught me that Korean hospitals encourage patients to get out of bed to take walks everywhere. It was not unusual to see patients outside Korean hospitals walking along pedestrian pathways with IV poles in hand (see Figure 2). Although the very thought of allowing my patients to...