In "Cultural Competence: Fright Sickness" (Ethical Problems, October 2009),* a nurse wrote about a Hispanic patient's complaint of susto, or "fright sickness." I share the writer's concern that dismissal of the patient's complaint by the physician demonstrated failure to provide culturally competent care.
As the article pointed out, "susto is believed [by some] to be related to the soul leaving the body." The patient's complaint is a loud cry of spiritual distress. We can also interpret susto as the fear of losing one's mind or having a nervous breakdown. A patient complaining of susto should receive a mental health evaluation and spiritual counseling.
To deliver competent care, we must fully investigate patients' complaints in a cultural context.
-TERRILYNN FOX QUILLEN, RN, MSN, FCN
Greenwood, Ind.
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