ABSTRACT
When a responder encounters a culture that he or she is unfamiliar with, there is a concept known as cultural competency that would benefit the responder in assessing the patient and the scene. Cultural competency has been defined as “a set of values and principles, and demonstrative behaviors, attitudes, policies and structures that enable organizations to operate crossculturally.”1 In looking at various religious cultures, we can begin to form a plan of cultural competency by looking at some of the concepts of cultural anthropology as a guideline to understanding culture.
