1. Running head: CULTURAL ASSESSMENT OF CANADIAN AMERICAN 1
Cultural Assessment of Canadian American
Desiree Ferwalt
NUR 3393 Transcultural Nursing
11 December 2011

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Cultural Assessment of Canadian American
The person I did my cultural assessment on is Sharon Collins. She and her husband are
friends from the church I attend. Sharon is originally from the Province Ontario, Canada, but
when she married her husband in the mid-nineties Sharon moved to Missouri with husband
George. She became an American citizen when she got married and has lived in the States ever
since.
Sharon Collins is a culturally unique individual. Though she does have many similar
things to her culture stereotype in many ways her personal values and views differs greatly from
her Canadian culture. Sharon was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ottawa is on the border of
Ontario and Quebec. Ottawa is the Canadian capital and the fifth largest city in Canada (Crooks,
McDonagh, Lees, & Thomlinson, 2004, p.255). In his article Wiseman states that Canada is as
ethically and culturally diverse as its neighbor the United States (2007, p.7). Sharon states that
her cultural definition of herself and her Canadian culture is “we are a very friendly people who
are very easy going”. Sharon states that her race is Caucasian and that most of Canadians are
Caucasian. Wiseman states in his article Five Immigrant Waves that Canadians get their roots
mainly from the French and British colony. Other major ethnic origins are Scottish, Irish,
Chinese and German (2007, p.9). She lived in Ottawa until her early-twenties. Sharon goes back
to Canada once a year to visit her friends and family.
Sharon Collins communicates in clear accented voice. She says that her accent isn’t
nearly as strong as it used to be though it becomes more pronounce when she gets excited. At
times she has to really work on her enunciation to be understood. English is her native language,
though she does speaks a little French. Wiseman states English is official language spoken in

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Canada, but many speak French too. The people who speak English in Canada are anglophone
and the French speakers are francophone (Wiseman, 2007, p.10). As a nurse this might mean
that if you get a non-English speaking patient you will need to have a translator available. Her
voice quality is strong and resonates. Sharon does not use silence very well. She is someone who
talks a mile a minute and doesn’t let you get a word in. Her silences are very brief. She says she
is uncomfortable with silences in the conversation. Sharon loves to talk. She states it is one of
her hobbies and will communicate with her friends, family, and acquaintances. Giger and
Davidhizer (2008) states that Canadians “…are warmhearted people who express their thoughts
and opinions openly, are expressive, and use their hands for emphases when speaking” (p.647).
When asked a question Sharon responds not only with her words but with her hands, facial
expression, and stance. Sharon uses her hands very expressly when she talks. The more excited
she gets the more wild her hand motions become. She will make direct eye contact while talking
to someone and she expects the person she is talking to make eye contact with her. Sharon states
that she gets her point across by making eye contact and speaking clearly. She said that she will
usually ask if the person understands what she is saying to make her point clear. When talking to
Sharon her emotions are usually quite clear through her expressions and stance. If Sharon has
something to say she comes right out and says it. She is a very blunt woman. She usually takes a
relax stance when talking to someone she knows. She is very accepting of touch and will touch
others readily. Sharon is someone who likes to hug and pat people on the shoulder. Canadians
are very expressive with their emotions (Giger et. al., 2008, p. 247).
Sharon Collins has a very different view on Space than her Canadian brethren. Sharon’s
degree of comfort is between 18 inches to two feet. The normal space between two Canadians is

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between eighteen to thirty inches (Giger et. al., 2008, p.648). As a nurse we should keep a certain
distance between ourselves and the patients. She will lean forward when she talks to a person.
The better she knows the person the more comfortable she feels about standing closer. She stands
very close to her husband and children usually less than eighteen inches. When communicating
with acquaintances she will stand less than three feet away from them. She will move back if she
feels someone is to close. Sharon doesn’t mind shaking a strangers hand or giving someone a
hug if she feels they need it. Sharon varies from her Canadian culture since they show little
physical contact while in public (Giger et. al., 2008, p. 648). Sharon states that she does not
know a stranger. The furniture does not really seem to affect how close she will get to someone.
She will move around any furniture to stand closer to a person.
Sharon’s health is good and her “issues” as she puts it are well controlled. Most
Canadians define health as “…an ideal state in which illness is absent” (Giger et. al., 2008, p.
652). She has chronic illnesses and they are hypothyroidism, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus
which are all controlled by medications. Sharon does not take care of herself as she should
through diet and exercise. These are all common diseases among Canadians. In the article Health
Beliefs of rural Canadians (2004) Crooks and the other authors discuss that Canadians believe
more in prevention of a disease instead of treating it, such as controlling body weight, exercise,
and practicing safe sex (p. 258).If Sharon cut back on her salt and fat intake and exercised more
she would be in better shape. Sharon has been married for over seventeen years and has had three
boys. In Canada the average number of children per woman is 1.45 (Giger et. al., 2008, p. 649).
She is a stay at home mom. She keeps her house extremely clean and cares for the youngest who
hasn’t started school yet. She believes that is what God meant for her do in life and does not

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want to work outside the home. If you watch their family interact with each other it is obvious
that Sharon is the head of that house hold. Sharon’s mom is still alive and living in Canada. Her
father died a few years ago of heart disease. Sharon is an only child. She goes and visits her
mother at least once a year and usually calls her once a week. As a child Sharon feels like her
mother was the biggest influence in her life since she spent so much time with her. Sharon
defined her social activities as things that get her out of the house. Some of the activities she
enjoys to do are going to Pilates, attending her son’s baseball games, and being on the church
board. Her free time is usually spent on Facebook. Sharon does believe in God. She belongs to
the United Methodist Presbyterian Church and attends church almost every Sunday. The main
religion in Canada is Catholism (Giger et. al., 2008, p.650). Sharon political party is Democrat.
She believes that the government should take care of healthcare like the Canadian government
does.
Sharon Collins is past oriented. She is always reminiscing about when she used to live in
Canada and growing up among her family. She is also present oriented because she lives and
plans only for the present and is bad about planning for the future. She has never arrived on time
since I have known her. Se can be a couple minutes late to a couple of hours. She never gets
anything done on time. Most Canadians are past and present oriented (Giger et. al., 2008, p.651).
Her view of time is social time. Sharon uses her cell phone to tell time. She will set the clocks in
her house and car forwards a couple of minutes just so she tries to arrive on time. She states that
she gets about seven hours asleep a night. Nurses need to reinforce the need to be on time for
hospital visits. Crooks et. al. states in her article that as nurses one of the most important
communication skills we must develop is a trusting relationship with our patients so that they

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will more likely listen to the information we give them and be more compliant with instructions
given them (2004, p.263).
Sharon Collins locus of control is internal and believes that the power to affect change
lies within. Sharon believes in God and uses prayer when things are not going the way she wants.
Sharon remembers her mother making home remedies when she had colds, such as chicken
noodle soup and honey and lemon water. She sometimes uses the same remedies on her own
sons. She says she will probably use them in the future. She says that Sharon enjoys having
visitors at her house though she prefers that people call first.
Sharon Collins is of median height with a large frame. She is Caucasian with fair skin,
her hair is a light brown cut at her shoulders, and she has hazel eyes. She has thousands of
freckles covering her face and arms. Sharon’s states that heart disease and diabetes runs in her
family. She doesn’t think there are any genetic diseases that her family is susceptible. Family
members will call the person who is sick to wish them well and stop by to see how the sick
person is doing. Sharon will raise her voice when she becomes angry and will then ignore a
person when they have irritated her. Sharon is really reliant on her husband in her time of needs,
and she will pray for guidance. Sharon’s favorite foods are pasta and steaks. A traditional food
that Sharon learned from her mother is homemade bread this is a food item that her family
devours. She states that her family likes grilled food. Canadians foods are usually high in fats,
salts and starches (Giger et. al., 2008, p.653). Sharon said that when she was pregnant she had an
unusual craving for flour. Sharon states that she ate a lot of canned soup when she was young.
Sharon Collins has assimilated well to the American culture. She and her family celebrate
US holidays such as Forth of July and Thanksgiving. Sharon states that Americans think that

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their culture is the superior culture; she states that Canadians are more likely to be open to other
cultures. Sharon says a main difference from the US and Canada is that healthcare and insurance
doesn’t cost as much in Canada. She says that instead of Spanish being Canada’s second
language like the US it is French. Sharon tries to be open to new ideas. Sharon has no concept of
other people’s personal space and has a habit of invading a person’s space. I have had her follow
me across a room as I would take a step back to a comfortable talking space she would step
forward with me. She states that she doesn’t understand how a person can not believe in God,
though she doesn’t think those people are bad just misguided. Sharon states that any spiritual
guidance she needs she will ask a member of the congregation or the pastor. Sharon could not
think of any spiritual practices impede any western health practices. Sharon says she should
probably cut back on her salt intake. Crooks et. al. states in her article that there are many
unhealthy habits that the Canadian culture takes pleasure in, some include smoking, excess food
and drink, and not exercising (2004, p. 261).
My own cultural beliefs influences affect how I care for my patients. I have always used
silence in conversation which is sometimes difficult to carry on a conversation if the other person
isn’t a very talkative. I have always had a large personal space which can sometimes be difficult
when a patient needs you to be there to comfort them. I come from a large family and have a lot
support when I need it. As a nurse I need to realize that others are not so reliant on family. I have
always been future oriented. I usually to make lists and daily and monthly plans. It is hard for me
to see why a person can not keep appointments or at least call ahead when they are going to be
late. I believe I have more internal instead of external locus of control. I have always believed
that I was in control of what happens to me and nobody else.

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Knowledge gained from this course will influence future nursing care for me when taking
care of individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The class has taught me to broaden
my understanding of other cultures and be more tolerant of other people and differing needs from
mine.

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References
Crooks, K. B., McDonagh, M. K., Lees, M., & Thomlinson, K. (2004). Health beliefs of rural
Canadians: implications for practice. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 12(6), 258-263.
Giger, J.N. & Davidhizar, R.E. (2008). Transcultural Nursing: Assessment & Intervention, (5th
Ed). Mosby: St Louis. 646-659.
Wiseman, N., (2007). Five Immigrant Waves: Their Ideological Orientations and Partisan
Reverberations. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 39( ½), p5-30.