MADELEINE LEININGER THEORY OF TRANSCULTURAL NURSING     1700w

“Canada is not a melting pot in which the individuality of each element is destroyed in order to produce a new and totally different element. It is rather a garden into which have been transplanted the hardiest and brightest flowers from many lands, each retaining in its new environment the best of the qualities for which it was loved and prized in its native land.”

 John Diefenbaker, prime minister of Canada (1957-1963). Canada is a country that is differentiated by a tradition of continued and changing settlement. There are the original inhabitants; the Aboriginal people, as well as the more socially dominant Anglo-Canadian population, descendants of the settlers who came here from countries in Europe during the colonial era and in more recent times, immigrants who have arrived from a range of countries across the globe. Today, Canada’s population represents citizens who originate from more than 150 different countries, who speak over 100 languages and practice over several religions.

Canada is recognized as a multicultural nation. Multiculturalism requires that each culture is considered equal to the other and cultural diversity is tolerated (Francis, 1999, Brannigan, 2000) FIND STATS.

Nursing is a vocation that engages at its most basic level with individuals, their families and communities (Allman, 1992). The delivery of nursing care is a significantly social activity. Nurses are in constant and close interaction with others and all aspects of nursing needs a high degree of interpersonal communication (Pallen, 2000). Nurses need to know how to effectively relate to and communicate with those patients in their care (Pallen, 2000). Nursing is associated with the physical, technical and social behavior: ‘nurses need to know what to do with clients, how to do it and know how to be while they are doing it” (Stein-Parbey, 2008, p.3) To accomplish optimistic outcomes when