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Hispanic Middle Eastern Deaf Community Asians Afro American Migrant Workers What is Race? |           |

Case  Studies The anecdotes and case reports we use here make many generalizations. They should not be mistaken for stereotypes. A stereotype and a generalization may appear similar, but they function very differently.   A Stereotype is an ending point, no attempt is made to learn whether the individual in question fits the statement.  A Generalization is a beginning point, it indicates common trends, but further information is needed to ascertain whether the statement is appropriate to a particular individual.  Galanti G.A. (1991) A danger associated with transcultural nursing theories and models is the assumption that people can be categorized, rather than individualized, by virtue of race, culture, and ethnicity.  People can not be put into little culturally specific boxes nor labeled by virtue of culture and race.  Do not assume that the criteria for a certain cultural group are true for every patient who belong to that racial, ethnic, or cultural group. The information we present for each cultural group is no more than an overview, the amount of relevant knowledge could fill many books.  The issues raised here are those that, we think, have special meaning to the practice of nursing, and health care delivery.  Nurses must always be aware of what people may be thinking that may differ from our own thoughts, and that other sources outside the traditional medical community, exist to help patients.    We would enjoy hearing anecdotes about your experiences with cultural diversity in practice. What situations have arisen and how did you handle them? What did you learn that might help other readers?   References :  Galanti G.A.: Caring for Patients from Different Cultures. University of   Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1991   Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues, Updated Edition With a New Preface  by Paul Farmer Copyright and Acceptable Use Policy Culturediversity.org  Home Copyright © 1997-2008 culturediversity.org.  All Rights Reserved. Direct all comments or questions to Webmaster webmaster@culturediversity.org