Here’s a unique resource I think readers might be interested in.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) plans to launch a diversity awareness resource center, reports Joe Cantlupe for HealthLeaders Media. ANA executives say the center’s aim is to ensure fair treatment of all patients, no matter their backgrounds, as cultural competency is a clear responsibility for nurses who work with patients every day.
The center, which will launch in the next couple of months, will include a database of materials related to different ethnicities, cultures, sexes, etc. The goal is to educate nurses about cultural issues that affect patients.
Would you use a resource like this? Do you feel you are adequately trained and educated on cultural competency? Share your thoughts below.
April 4th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Cultural competency is an area that is lacking in most health care institutions. Cultural competence does not just consist of learning the traits of people of color. It goes much further. Each health care facility that exists has its own culture made up of the customers that it serves and the people that serve the customers. A facility culture may include people of multiple ethnic backgrounds, handicaps, age groups, socioeconomic backgrounds, educational backgrounds, etc. In order to prevent health care disparities, the facility must first identify “Its Culture,” and then develop a plan to train the associates of that facility to care for the people of the hospital’s unique culture.