Hmong Pipe Ceremony
Photo courtesy of UMD SEAA Association

The primary source of most culture-based conflicts is a lack of understanding and tolerance: the patient doesn't understand the provider and the provider ignores or misinterprets the patient. The onus is on the provider to learn about the culture of the patients for which he or she provides care (Clement, 19). This becomes an enormous task when one is caring for every culture known to man. In order to ask appropriate questions and to understand answers, providers must have basic knowledge about a culture (Johnson, 45). One suggestion for providers is that each provider tries to understand one or two cultures then that provider can begin caring for more of the patients from that culture thus giving those patients better care. If several providers are able to do this within a clinic or hospital, many cultures will then be represented by various providers thus creating a positive patient encounter. The provider may still require the assistance of an interpreter but the provider will have a better basic knowledge about the culture on which to base appropriate treatment options due to greater understanding of the problem and how the patient views this particular problem.