Social and Cultural Influences (Term Paper Sample)

Social and Cultural Influences Student’s Name Professor’ Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code Date Social and Cultural Influences Social and cultural influences are among other factors that shape a Nurse Practitioner's life and his or her personality. Social and cultural influences impact a practitioner's life in different ways, one of them being a patient's belief about an illness and treatment, which may impact the NP's ability to offer the appropriate care. Social factors that determine access to and provision of healthcare, such as poverty, affect the well-being and overall health of the patient population an NP serves. Additionally, these factors can also influence the number of patients attended to by an NP and their workload also. Understanding and being aware of social and cultural influences allow an NP to be accepting, remain respectful, and welcome human diversity. He or she can also these factors collide with the beliefs, experiences, and values of a client's culture. In addition, comprehending cultural and social influences helps facilitate holistic approaches to care based on the patient's culture (RegisteredNursing.org, 2022). Overall, understanding and awareness of these influences help an NP be more effective and culturally sensitive when providing care. This paper will disclose the social and cultural influences that shape lifestyle and career choices and also the implications of these choices on the role of an advanced practice nurse. The Social and Cultural Influences Family is the first and most significant social influence on any person's life. Family members, siblings, and parents greatly impact one's values, beliefs, and goals. Parents greatly influence individuals when they are growing up, and it can be extended into adulthood. This includes career choices. Parents are the initiators of values, ethics, and money in a person's life. In addition to this, while young, discipline and hierarchical structures are introduced in an individual's life by parents to guide them in their development (Lipscomb, 2022). As a result, one may opt to carry on the values by choosing a career that best suits them. An example is when a person grows up in a family where they highly value education, he or she is likely to pursue a career in academics. Also, if the person grows up in a family where a certain career is highly valued, the person is likely to pursue the career path. In this context, if an individual is from a family of NPs, he or she has more chances of pursuing the career. As an introduction to the social world, family influences individuals' lifestyle and career choices through traditions, beliefs, and values. The second significant factor that influences career choices and lifestyle is education. Education exposes individuals to various skills and a range of knowledge that can help them make informed decisions about their lives and careers. It should be noted that education is a key factor that determines a person's career opportunities and earning potential. It is no secret that people with higher levels of education are more likely to find better-paying and rewarding jobs. Also, in a specified field, education comes in handy in developing the knowledge and skills required to advance in the career. Additionally, through education, one can pursue a career that he or she had not initially considered. An example is a student who might be studying engineering and developing an interest in nursing. When making lifestyle choices, education provides people with the necessary tools for making healthier and appropriate choices. A good example is that students exposed to nutrition have better knowledge when making decisions about their diet, which can impact their health. Based on this, education is an important factor that provides people with important knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that can be applied when making choices about their careers and lifestyle. Media and culture are other significant influences. With people living in a technologically evolved world where they have embraced social media, their perceptions about the world have been greatly shaped. The media is a powerful force that exposes people to various social and political events and socio-economic levels (Lipscomb, 2022). Therefore, the media content tends to focus on specific careers, which shapes people's ideas about those careers. Media provides various information about different careers and lifestyles that makes one decide what is desirable and what is not. By glamorizing a certain profession, an individual is more likely to pursue it because of the number of successful people they view. Because the media portrays entrepreneurs and businesspeople as successful, more people tend to follow business and finance careers. If the media portrayed nursing as an important and successful career, more people would be after the profession. Evidently, the media significantly influences a person’s beliefs and attitudes about a career as well as lifestyle. A community also influences an individual's lifestyle and career choices by providing a sense of belonging and access to resources and opportunities. A community shapes one's cultural norms and values. In return, these values and norms determine people's choices about their lifestyles and careers. The cultural expectations established through community serve as external forces that make people choose based on how their roles will meet the expectations (Venable, n.d.). If a community values education and nursing as a profession, a higher percentage of community members are more likely to pursue a career in nursing. Community. Some communities provide more access to resources and opportunities. In such communities, the residents are more likely to pursue better careers compared to communities with limited access to resources and opportunities that make people choose different lifestyles and careers. Communities provide chances for networking and mentorship programs that can shape lifestyle and career opportunities. Being part of a community, people with similar interests have an opportunity to learn from and be mentored by people who have had success in a similar field. Comprehensively, a community not only shapes individuals' cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes but also provides access to resources and opportunities that help shape a person's lifestyle and career choices. All choices made by people are based on society and the economy (Venable, n.d.). Some events can take place, thereby shaping people's choices in a certain manner. Socioeconomic conditions determine the level of opportunities available to people. When society prospers economically, numerous job opportunities allow people to pursue different careers. However, in tough economic times, some careers are affected more than others, leading to people pursuing the less affected industries. Additionally, in a society where there is equal distribution of resources and opportunities, people have options regarding career and lifestyle choices. Through such economies within a society, people can identify their skills, talents, and abilities and how they can fit into certain occupations depending on the available career fields. Also, it should be noted that there are people from low, middle, and high-income households. All these people make lifestyle and career choices depending on the resources and opportunities that are available to them. Implications of the Influences The role of an advanced practice nurse (APN) is affected by social and cultural influences. As stated earlier, social and cultural factors shape people's lifestyle choices, and this can create barriers to the role of an APN. The social and cultural factors that determine a person's lifestyle and career shape their beliefs, values, and attitudes about the APN profession. Family is an important social segment of a person's life. This factor challenges the role of an APN because the demanding schedules are affected by family obligations. Based on the roles of an APN, balancing the responsibilities between family and work becomes a challenge. Also, because of family, an APN's flexibility is affected, and their role in practice becomes limited. Family and community shape their members' cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes. Therefore, these members might have different perceptions of patients about the professions and even the treatment methods, which can affect how...