12-03-09
How does your place of employment handle language barriers between colleagues?
Between you & your patient(s)?
12-03-09
What is your understanding of the term “Cultural Competence”?
12-03-09
Is “Diversity Training” provided at your place of employment or School of Nursing?
If so, was it helpful? If not, why?
12-03-09
What works best for you to understand a particular patient’s culture?
It seems that assumptions are made about a patient based upon how they dress, their native language, diet, etc. When assumptions are made, it can interfere with your patient’s overall care and health. As a Nurse, what works for you to understand your patient’s real needs?
12-01-09
Does your hospital or School of Nursing offer any education/CME’s on Diversity?
By Phoebe Taylor
DiversityNursing.com
12/01/2009
The UNC Healthcare System is an example of an organization that addresses the Diversity within its nursing workforce at an impressive level. At the UNC Healthcare System, Diversity has taken a primary role in the driver seat of the organization through the creation of their Nursing Diversity Council. As part of their Shared Governance Model, the Diversity Council has taken a lead role in forming the future of the nursing staff at UNC.
The Nursing Diversity Council at the UNC Healthcare System
The Nursing Diversity Council provides support for the development and implementation of diversity initiatives within nursing, and works to foster a respectful, culturally appropriate environment for patients, families and staff members.
The purpose of the Nursing Diversity Council is to:
- Promote a respectful health care environment that values the incorporation of culturally relevant care for our patients and their families.
- Establish yearly goals for diversity initiatives.
- Collaborate with the Professional Development Council to provide a framework for the educational plan in regards to diversity initiatives.
- Develop policies and procedures aligned with the goals and initiatives of the Council.
- Integrate the diversity initiatives with the hospital plan.
- Review data (such as the Employee Opinion Survey, Press Ganey survey, hospital and patient demographics, etc) to assess efficacy of diversity initiatives and incorporate the data to develop action plans.
Membership shall include the following:
- 1 Director
- 3 Clinical Nurse Managers
- 2 Nurse Educators
- 1 staff nurse representative from each of the clinical service areas:
- Surgery Services
- Oncology
- Heart Center
- Medicine Services
- Women’s Hospital
- Children’s Hospital
- Surgical Services
- Psychiatry
- Rehab
- Emergency Department/ Air Care
- At- large representative from the procedural areas
- At- large representative from the outpatient clinic areas
- Other Members:
- HR representative
- Nurse Recruitment representative
- Pastoral Care representative
10-02-09
Incorporating cultural diversity in nursing care: an action plan
Over the last several decades, nursing literature has examined culture as a concept and determinant of health behaviors and beliefs. Several nursing theories have emerged to address culturally derived meanings and perspectives of health and illness behavior. In these theories, culture is presented as a distinctly important aspect of nursing care. However, there are few guidelines as to their pragmatic implementation in practice and education.
Characteristics of Culture
Culture is dynamic. Its changes are usually gradual, but always constant. Culture is one of the few attributes important enough that no one was left out. We all have at least one; many of us have more than one. Culture is defined as the lifeways of a group. It includes values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, rituals, and behaviors. It will vary within the group by age, gender, religion, and social class. The lifeways of a group are their transmitted memories and changes in those lifeways that occur over time. Changes within a culture are continuous and are effected by social environment and the extent to which the group members adapt to change. For example, when members of other cultures immigrate to the United States, they often maintain their cultural distinctiveness, but to varying degrees they take on the attributes of the new culture. A Japanese American may enjoy hamburgers and baseball games and faithfully practice the Shinto religion. Invariably, change accelerates in the offspring of immigrants who either arrive here very early in their lives or are born here. Several terms are used to describe cultural change.
In acculturation or the mosaic concept, the contact between groups brings changes in one or both groups with or without actual intermingling. The relationship between whites and African Americans or whites and Native Americans in the United States are examples of acculturation. Assimilation or the melting pot concept is a process by which different groups fuse separate cultures into one common culture. Usually, one of the groups is dominant and the features of the less dominant group gradually fade through intermarriage and structural breakdown. The ancient Egyptians are an example. After invasions by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, and finally the Arabs, the art, architecture, language, religion, rituals, people, and dress of the ancient Egyptian culture is no longer distinct. Today, the culture and language of people of Arabic descent dominate Egypt.
