DiversityNursing Blog

Meg Beturne MSN, RN, CPAN, CAPA
Denise Colon, RN
Baystate Health System, Springfield, MA

This article was submitted by Meg Beturne RN, MSN, CPAN, CAPA,  Assistant Nurse Manager @ Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center in Springfield, MA.  Meg became a mentor and participated in "Baystate Health’s Diversity Leadership Initiative, Mentoring Across Differences" Program. A Dimensions of Diversity Exercise (copyrighted in 2011 by Washington Orange Wheeler Consulting firm http://wow4results.com) was offered as part of the Program.

The exercise is a puzzle that shows the complexity of mentoring across differences. Understanding how these differences have impacted us and others helps to create a container for meaningful dialogue. Consider how various differences could impact your mentoring relationship. To participate in this exercise, you identify a few  dimensions of diversity that have had an important role in impacting who you are, how others see you, and how you see the world. You then figure out how the dimensions shaped who you are personally and professionally. Finally, how might these dimensions impact your mentoring relationship? 

Meg, a Caucasian Catholic, mentored Denise who has a Latina background with strong family ties and a culture that is filled with traditions that are vital to her life and that of her family and extended family. Denise is Roman Catholic and she works to maintain a healthy balance between work and home as she has a young family. Here is their mentoring story…

Impact on Differences 

As I began the mentoring relationship with Denise, I realized the importance of recognizing and understanding the differences and similarities that existed between us. Equipped with this knowledge, I felt that we could tackle the complexities of mentoring across differences. The Dimensions in Diversity exercise offered the perfect opportunity to explore key, diverse components that have made us the women and nurses that we are today. To that end, we made this a priority and discussed it at our very first meeting and then confirmed our thoughts and feelings at our next time together.

It was interesting to realize that both of us equally valued traditions and observances, but from a different perspective. We both enjoy sharing the particulars of the holiday traditions through the years and reminisced on who was present, the activities that took place, the photos that were taken and the memories that were made and cherished by future generations. Denise however was vocal that many persons that she has interacted with over time do not have a real understanding of the ethnic backgrounds that are celebrated in the various holidays. That being said, there is a lack of appreciation from culture to culture on the meaning and purpose of observances involving family and relatives. I had to admit that since I had grown up in a small mill town in Connecticut that was homogenous with regard to ethnicity and religion (Caucasian Catholics), I was not exposed to comments, conversations or messages that demonstrated anything but allegiance to the existing cultural observances and inclusion of the small numbers of diverse ethnic and religious populations that resided close by.

Denise chose accent and dialect as another dimension of her diversity. She relayed the fact that many individuals and groups do not make an attempt to understand or accept anyone who speaks in a certain way. This scenario creates feelings of self-doubt. In addition, it allows feelings of rejection to creep in that ultimately results in further retreat into one’s own ethnicity which is considered supportive and safe. As a registered nurse, Denise has encountered many patients and caregivers from all corners of the globe. Working with a team of professionals, Denise has gained acceptance and recognition as a caring and compassionate care giver and over time, interactions and conversations have focused on quality care rather than on accent or dialect.

I then shared that communication was a vital personal and professional dimension that affects my life in so many ways. Even though my communication style is open, friendly and positive, I have learned that being a good listener is actually a more important skill. I found myself connecting with Denise’s story and promised myself to be even more in tune with people I meet on a daily basis who might sound different than me. In my own way, I will seek to eliminate self-doubt by encouraging others to use their native voices to raise questions, contribute ideas and feel reassured that they will be understood.

As I reflect on this meeting with Denise, I am amazed at the information that was willingly shared and the conversation which was free-flowing and enjoyable.  Most importantly, after completion of this exercise, I feel more prepared then ever to be the type of mentor that will enable Denise to move forward in both her professional career and her personal life!

A special thank you to Denise Colon, RN for her participation.

By MICHELLE T. JOHNSON
http://michelletjohnson.com
Special writer to The Kansas City Star

September is Hispanic Heritage Month, which makes me realize how little reliable information — vs. stereotypes and inaccuracies — there is about Hispanics in the workplace.

Unfortunately, what pops into the minds of many when they think about Hispanics in the workplace is “illegal immigrants.” I’ve heard far too many people who should know better make that assumption.

This in part comes about because of what people see on television and the Internet, and because we tend to turn bits of anecdotal evidence into something we “know.”

In truth, Americans of Hispanic descent grapple with the same issues as any other group in the workforce — and like many groups battling stereotypes, their challenges are often greater than average.

For example, a recent study found that Hispanic workers were twice as likely to hold administrative or clerical entry-level jobs as “nondiverse workers,” which the study defined as white males who were not disabled, gay or transgender.

The study also found that 51 percent of the Hispanic workers surveyed were likely to be making less than $50,000 a year, compared with 31 percent for the non-diverse workers.

In terms of demographics, Hispanics have long since passed African-Americans as the largest U.S. ethnic minority, with 50 percent population growth in the last decade alone. And the most recent news is that Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority enrolled in college.

My longtime friend Mary D. Padilla says that one of the biggest misconceptions she thinks people have about Hispanics, especially in the workforce, is that they are all Mexican or of Mexican descent.

An estimated 63 percent of U.S. Hispanics are of Mexican descent, so that leaves more than a third who are not.

Diversity is about the distinctions and not just the differences. Details matter. Different groups have different cultural norms, different histories and different worldviews.

Hispanic Heritage Month is meant to remind us of that — it’s more than just having a fiesta with a feast in the lunchroom. We should recognize, celebrate and become educated about a big segment of our workforce.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/05/3122994/assumptions-hurt-hispanic-workforce.html

Staff Assistant
Hausman Diversity Program at Mass General Hospital

The Hausman Student Nurse Fellowship was created when MGH patient Margaretta Hausman, a social worker and graduate of Brown University, recognized the need for diversity among the top-level nursing staff. The Hausman Student Nurse Fellowship provides an opportunity for minority nursing students enrolled in an undergraduate baccalaureate nursing program to gain experience in patient care across the continuum.

The fellowship allows student nurses between the summer of their junior and senior year in college to experience care at the bedside in both inpatient and outpatient settings.  Under the mentorship of Deborah Washington, R.N., Director of Diversity for Patient Care Services and Bernice McField-Avila MD, Co-Chair of the Fellowship, the recipients have an opportunity to further develop skills required to thrive in a workplace where unique challenge to the minority nurse must be managed.

The first fellowship was awarded to Stevenson Morency in 2007.  The program flourished significantly and in 2011, the fellowship was awarded to 8 minority student nurses, the largest group in the history of the program. The Student Nurses worked on various units such as Endoscopy, Orthopedics, General Medicine, Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac Unit, Neurosurgery Unit, Wang Wound Care, Cancer Center and the Grey IV department.

At the graduation ceremony on August 19, 2011, the Hausman Student Nurses provided feedback about their time in the program. Vicky Yu, a student of UMass and a 2011 recipient, felt honored to be part of the fellowship. She stated she saw many procedures she had only read about in her textbooks: colonoscopy, hip/knee replacements and urinary catheterization. “I got to work with a nurse 1-on-1. I don't get this attention on my school clinical and I loved it!” stated Vicky.   

Jennifer Etienne of Boston College stated: “As a minority nurse, it will be my mission to eliminate health care disparities and use my skills and knowledge to eliminate language barriers and become more culturally competent.”

Marthe Pierre shared: “The Hausman Fellowship is a ladder that provided a stepping-stone to my success. It allowed me to acquire skills, knowledge and confidence. It has also ignited my desire to one day become an extraordinary nurse who is culturally competent and compassionate.”

Jeffrey Jean of UMass Boston expressed that the program has reaffirmed his knowledge and his clinical experience. “Being able to walk in the shoes of a different RN has allowed me to re-invent myself. I have learned an abundance of new skills and techniques and have acquired a vast amount of knowledge. I believe that an important component of being an effective caregiver is to know what my strengths are.”

Sedina Giaff of Simmons College declared “It is with great pride that I introduce myself as a Hausman Fellow. This has been the best summer of my life. My experience as a Hausman Fellow has made me a better nursing student both clinically and intellectually. I have a better understanding and greater interest in the nursing profession. I am confidently looking forward to the coming school year and sharing my experiences with my classmates.”

Lauren Kang-Kim of Linfield College in Oregon had this to say: “Now I am reborn as a Hausman Fellow. For the last 5 weeks I found my own powerful voice and I am now proud of my minority identity. The Fellowship has opened the doors for me to become not just a better nurse, but a better person with a deeper understanding and respect for human beings.

Rosalee Tayag and Anna Diane of UMass Boston and Boston College respectively, stated that the Fellowship enhanced their leadership, critical thinking, assessment and communication skills; and  taught them to be more culturally sensitive. They also emphasized that they learned to work as members of a team more effectively.

Former 2010 Hausman awardees, Jason Villarreal and Penina Marengue, congratulated the Student Nurses on their graduation and cautioned them to use their new-found knowledge to provide competent care to their patients and uphold the good name of the Hausman Fellows.

Former Hausman Fellows include: Frew Fikru, Alexis Seggalye, and Christopher Uyiguosa Isibor 2008.  Chantel Watson and Stephanie Poon 2009.

The Hausman Fellowship is posted by Spring of each year at www.mghcareers.org. Qualified minority candidates should be in good academic standing (3.0 GPA or higher) and entering their senior year of a BSN program in the Fall.

Mr. W had a heart attack and was in the ICU last week.  While reviewing his discharge medication list, you realize Mr. W unintentionally discontinued his medication for hypertension and dyslipidemia.  Unfortunately, these medications were not on the discharge medication list.  

Jay has been a well controlled diabetic for many years.  Today his A1C is 10.5.  He insists he is taking his medication regularly.  

A medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. ¹   Efforts to decrease or prevent medication errors often focus on improving systems and procedures utilized by nurses, physicians and pharmacists during the multistep process of medication administration.  Decreasing medication errors by patients must also be addressed.  

According to the landmark 2006 report "Preventing Medication Errors" from the Institute of Medicine, medication errors injure 1.5 million Americans each year and cost 3.5 billion in lost productivity, wages and additional medical expenses.^​2 1/3 of medication errors occur in outpatient settings.  Patients often unintentionally discontinue medications after a hospitalization or transfer of care.  Numerous studies have shown that patients with chronic conditions adhere only to 50% to 60% of medications as prescribed despite evidence that medical therapy prevents death and improves quality of life.³   Knowledge deficits and poor understanding of drug label directions often result in medication errors initiated by patients. 

How to reduce medication errors by patients:

1. Decrease medication knowledge deficits.  Review with patients in plain language what medications were prescribed, how to take them, discuss side effects and address concerns regarding drug interactions and cost.  Use visuals and show me techniques to ensure patient understanding.  Enlist the help of the PCP and pharmacist for additional education.
2. 2.   An accurate medication list that includes discharge medications and/or chronic care medications is essential.  Learn how to take an accurate medication history.    Use clear communication techniques during conversations with patients.  Provide patient and PCP with discharge medication list.   
3. Monitor for medication adherence.  Ask patients to bring in all of their medications or contact pharmacies for information on most recent refill dates.  Evaluate and address medication knowledge deficits.  Medication reminders, automatic med refills, medication home delivery, assistance of family members or home care services can be utilized to improve adherence.  Call recently discharged patients to ensure they are taking prescribed medications and chronic care medications. 

Stephanie Wilborne, APRN

HealthLit.com:  Clear & Simple Patient Education/ Tools for Chronic Disease Management

¹ National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention: http://www.nccmerp.org/aboutMedErrors.html

²Anderson, Pamela, and Terri Townsend. "Medication errors: Don't let them happen to you." American Nurse Today 5.3 (2010): 23-27: http://www.nursingworld.org/mods/mod494/MedErrors.pdf

³ Bosworth, Hayden, Bradi Granger, Stephen Kimmel, Larry Liu, John Musaus, William Shrank, Elizabeth Buono, Karen Weiss, Christopher Granger, Phill Mendys, Ralph Brindis, Rebecca Burkholder, Susan Czajkowski, Jodi Daniel, Inger Ekman, Michael Ho, and Mimi Johnson. "Medication adherence: A call for action." American Heart Journal 162.3 (2011): 412-424. Print.

⁴ Preventing Medication Errors: Quality Chasm Series Committee on Identifying and Preventing Medication Errors, Philip Aspden, Julie Wolcott, J. Lyle Bootman, Linda R. Cronenwett, Editors

Thank you to Pilar De La Cruz-Reyes, MSN, RN from the California Institute for Nursing and Healthcare for the content of this video.

Breaking the Barriers is a great compilation of nursing stories put together by the California Institute for Nursing & Health Care that show how everyday people can overcome adversity to follow the career of their dreams. The nurses in this video will inspire you and show to our young people how you really can achieve if you have the desire and passion for a career in nursing.

Once you watch this video, we would love to hear your feedback. Please comment here on our blog when you have a minute.

Four Innovative Initiatives to Attract and Retain Diverse Women

By Tina Vasquez for Evolved Employer

Recently, Working Mother Magazine released its 2011 list of the best places to work for multicultural women – essentially, a survey of the availability and usage of diversity programs, as well as the accountability of the managers who oversee them at top corporations. For the fifth year in a row, Pepsico has been named number one, along with with 23 other companies, all of which are committed to supporting women of color with strong diversity, leadership, and education programs. Here are four of the most innovative initiatives included on 2011 list, that help advance and retain diverse women.

IBM
IBM’s cutting edge Reverse Mentoring pilot program turned mentoring on its head. Ten senior executives were given the opportunity to choose a culture they wanted to learn more about and for 10 months, and multicultural women (who were primarily non-executives) from these cultures acted as their mentors, helping them better understand cultural differences. The need for the program was identified as a key initiative of the Multicultural Women’s Group at the company, whose mission it is to attract, retain, and develop women through mentoring, networking, fostering a sense of community, and exchanging information.

According to Angela Archon, IBM’s VP of systems and technology, the program promoted cultural sensitivity and adaptability and demonstrated the impact of globalization and why culture matters.

“The hallmark of the program was to increase knowledge and sensitivity around cultural differences and continuously improve global collaboration. It helped dispel myths; it provided clarity to issues related to stereotyping; and it increased cultural awareness,” Archon said. “Executive mentees gained knowledge about their mentor’s culture and how business is done in that culture and the multicultural women who served as mentors had the opportunity to build a relationship with an IBM executive and enhance their leadership capabilities.”

Deloitte
It should come as no surprise that the ever impressive Deloitte was featured on Mother’s list for the sixth year in a row.

This year, two of Deloitte’s programs were spotlighted on the list: Navigation to Excellence and the Leadership Acceleration Program. After an internal survey of almost 4,000 multicultural employees, the firm found that multicultural women desired more formal sponsorship, so Deloitte launched its Navigation to Excellence pilot program, a one-year program that matches female managers and senior managers of color with leaders who help them orchestrate a career plan, gain access to key assignments, and enhance their knowledge of what it takes to advance. The 18-month Leadership Acceleration Program even allows female partners and principals to shadow their sponsors on the job, receiving intensive mentoring and coaching.

To continue moving these types of initiatives forward, the firm has quietly invested $300 million towards the creation of a state-of-the-art learning and leadership development center that will open its doors this fall after two years of construction.

According to Barbara Adachi, the National Managing Principal for Deloitte’s award-winning Women’s Initiative, it was never the firm’s intention to be a leader, but awards and recognition such as those given by Working Mother, inspires them to keep moving forward.

“We’re our biggest critics and we’re our biggest motivators. We don’t do this for the publicity. Diversity is a business imperative here. I recently read that half the population will be comprised of minorities in 2050 and I strongly believe that by being diverse, we attract the top talent in the market and we better serve our clients,” Adachi said. “We’re not doing this because it’s the right thing to do, but because this is the way business should be done.”

Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
This is the third time Chubb has been featured on Working Mother’s list, but the company has a long-standing commitment to promoting diversity with decades old programs and initiatives in place. According to Trevor Gandy, Chubb’s chief diversity officer, in order to form lasting business relationships with customers and become a true global leader in the industry, the company must understand its customer’s “diverse cultures and decisional processes- and not merely their languages.” To do so, the company strives to create a diverse workplace through programs such as their Count Me In: A Culture of Inclusion micro inequities program. The program began over 10 years ago and aims to help the company educate their workforce on the often small details and behaviors that help build an atmosphere in which all employees feel they have a voice.

Chubb also has a 29-year-old Minority Development Council whose mission is to advance the company’s business objectives by fostering the career development of people of color into leadership roles. Even more impressive, the company’s Women of Color strategy strengthens the bonds between women of color and their managers by providing them with meaningful feedback and structured development plans. The overriding goal, according to Gandy, is to prepare the company’s female multicultural employees to compete for leadership positions.

CA Technologies
Like Chubb, CA Technologies firmly believes that their business relationships in more than 140 countries drives their commitment to workplace diversity and it enables them to create, support, and sell the best IT management software.

The company’s Women in Technology Mentoring program is geared towards female employees that are in technical and quasi-technical roles within the company’s technology and development organization. The program was established to ensure that female employees are provided with the appropriate environment, knowledge, and sponsorship to achieve their full potential within the company. The company also supports the pursuit of higher education and provides up to $5,250 a year in financial assistance to eligible employees completing undergraduate and graduate level courses. CA Technologies also offers 15,000 online courses that employees can access. An adoption assistance program includes reimbursement of adoption-related expenses up to a maximum of $5,000 per child and $10,000 per family within a two-year period.

CA Technologies also aims to help working parents, so nearly 30 percent of the company’s North American employees participate in a full-time telecommuting or work from home program. The company also has Global Marketing and Finance associate rotation programs that were developed as a way to attract and develop entry level candidates and enable them to jump start their professional career with structured training programs, job shadowing, and access to mentors.

According to CA Technology’s VP of human resources, Beth Conway, the company is focused on fostering diversity both inside and outside the company.

“In addition to our efforts within the company, we’re also an active partner of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the impact of women on all aspects of technology,” Conway said. “We also sponsor ABI’s annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in the U.S. and India. We’re dedicated to helping the leaders of tomorrow develop their talents and career paths by providing and encouraging a collaborative working environment.”

from Jacob Braude is vice president for strategic planning and director of the Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness Lab at the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness for Forbes.com

Health and wellness are becoming big all across marketing. Even carmakers are getting into the act. Ford, for instance, just announced plans to partner with WellDoc to build mobile health sensors into its cars. In the future your Focus won’t just get you from here to there; it will also monitor your glucose levels, adapt to a high pollen count, and even remind you to take your medicine.

But in the rush to make the most of health and wellness, there is a danger that companies will miss one of the most important aspects of wellness. It’s not technology, or supplemental ingredients, or even medicine. It’s friends.

In a talk he gave at the TED conference in 2006, Dr. Dean Ornish, who first became well known for talking up the benefits of diet and exercise in fighting heart disease, told a story about a year he spent studying under a well-known swami. As Dr. Ornish recalled it, the two of them were speaking to a room full of medical students when someone asked the swami to talk about the difference between illness and wellness. The swami went to the board at the front of the room and wrote “Illness” and “Wellness.” Then he circled the I in “Illness” and the We in “Wellness.”

It was a simple and profound way to make a point, and a recent series of studies have proven him right. Researchers have shown that what I call “we-ness” affects all aspects of our health and wellness, from how likely we are to survive killer diseases to how likely we are to carry some extra weight and how generally satisfied we are with our lives.

In one survey of almost 3,000 nurses diagnosed with breast cancer, researchers discovered that women who had fewer than 10 close friends were four times more likely to die of the disease than women with 10 or more close friends. That’s an increase in survival rate that any pharmaceutical company would be thrilled with. In another study, of men in Sweden, researchers discovered that the leading risk factor for heart attack after smoking was having only a few friends. More recent research has demonstrated that people living with a lifelong condition like heart disease do better if they share their experiences with others going through the same thing—even if those people aren’t their friends.

Having friends isn’t just about long life. It’s also about quality of life. Highly publicized work by James Fowler and Dr. Nicholas Christakis found that having a friend who became obese made you 57% more likely to become obese as well. Researchers are discovering that both good and bad habits spread socially—not just weight issues but all aspects of health and wellness, including dietary and exercise habits and stress levels. The importance of friends to a person’s health and wellness has become so accepted that in a March 2011 interview with the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. surgeon general said, “We can’t look at health in isolation. It’s not just in the doctor’s office. If you have a healthy community, you have a healthy individual.”

Given all that, it’s not surprising that a study by the RAND Center for the Study of Aging identified “social contacts and family” as the No. 1 factor affecting life satisfaction. This was a robust study, conducted in both the U.S. and the Netherlands. There were differences between the two countries in other life satisfaction elements, such as job, income, and daily activities, but the people of both countries agreed that social contacts and family had the greatest effect on how satisfied they felt.

Fiat’s new eco:Drive system makes the most of the feel-good aspect of we-ness. It began with a wellness product that lets you in put your driving habits to a program that will teach you to blow less carbon into the environment by changing the way you drive. It became a we-ness product when Fiat created Eco:Ville, a virtual town modeled on the company’s hometown of Turin. Software permits you to join Eco:Ville, but only if you’ve changed the way you drive and improved your carbon footprint.

Another marketing-related innovation that builds on the connection between we-ness and everyday health and wellness is the Nike+ system. Nike took a health product—smart running shoes that can record your distance and pace and sync the data to your iPod—and made it a we-ness product by incorporating massive social integration in the form of running teams, geographic challenges and automatic posting of runs to social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

Asthmapolis, an organization that is just getting off the ground, connects we-ness to improving health for chronically ill patients by attaching a small GPS-enabled device to rescue inhalers. With today’s medications, asthma can often be well controlled but isn’t, because people rely too much on their rescue inhalers. Using Asthmapolis technology, whenever someone uses their inhaler, the time and location of use are recorded, creating a searchable map and timeline of their treatment habits that can be shared with friends, family, and physicians.

All these innovations make use of social technologies to weave we-ness into products that have a flavor of health or wellness. But we-ness doesn’t mean just plugging social media into whatever you’re selling. Coke recently rolled out special vending machines in Argentina to promote International Friendship Day. Most of us don’t associate Coke with health and wellness (sorry, Coke), but the company’s smart use of we-ness deserves to be recognized. The vending machines in Argentina were so tall that only by getting a boost from a friend could you put money in. When you did, you were rewarded with two Cokes—one for you and one for your partner.

We-ness is a part of all of our lives, so much a part that we sometimes take for granted just how good connecting with other people feels. Research proves that it doesn’t just feel good; it’s good for us. If you’re in the health and wellness market, or you’re ready to take the plunge, you will do well to include some aspect of it into what you’re selling.

This question comes up frequently and is asked quite often by nurses, "Should I carry malpractice insurance?" Many nurses are covered under their own individual liability insurance carrier. Many more are not. I am.......... are you??

Nurses can be sued at any time, for any reason. Often, allegations brought against you are unfounded, but just being named in a lawsuit gives one pause and can be one of the most stressful times in your life. The nurse feels embarrassed and fears damage to a perfect reputation.

Your employer's policy may cover you, but only up to a point. Remember: Your employer's policy is created to fit their specific needs and protects them first.

You may even be told (by your employer HR) that you do not need your own policy. What they do not tell you is that they want you to be represented by their attorneys. They do not want "outside" representation for they know that their best interests will not be first and foremost. Carrying your own policy will ensure you personal attorney representation when you need it and this attorney will be concerned with only protecting YOUR needs and YOUR best interests.

All malpractice insurance policies have limits of liability. If you are only covered by your employer's insurance, other defendants employed at your entity may and probably do share your liability limits under the same policy. If you as well as others are named in a suit, your legal costs, including any settlement, could exceed your employer's shared liability limits. This would mean out-of-pocket expenses for you!!

The following are a few individual carriers:

    Nurses Service Organization (NSO) - www.nso.com - #1 carrier for Nurses with free online quotes
    www.hpso.com
    www.cnahealthpro.com
    www.cmfgroup.com
    Marsh Affinity - www.proliability.com
    www.seaburychicago.com - not in all States
    Liability insurance can also be purchased through CNA by going to the American Nurses Association website - www.nursingworld.org
    And, some Home Owners insurance policies will have stipulations for liability insurance.

It is up to the individual nurse how much liability to carry. $1,000,000/$6,000,000 coverage premiums are approximately $90/year in most States for the RN and $90/year for the LPN - NSO.


Another benefit of carrying individual coverage which extends beyond your employer's limits:

    License Protection

Many Carriers reimburse you up to a certain amount if you are defending disciplinary charges with your Board of Nursing (BON).


And, many policies also address the following (not all inclusive):

    libel
    slander
    charges of confidentiality violation
    assault on the job

So, do you carry your own individual liability insurance??

Small price to pay for peace of mind...

Diversity is a welcome challenge as it is an opportunity to learn and be a better leader at CentraState.

Any Monday through Friday, you'll find Jeffrey Anderson and Hazen Yu in their positions as Administrative Coordinators /Nursing Supervisors for CentraState Healthcare System in New Jersey. Jeffrey works the 3:00-11:00pm shift and Hazen works the 11:00pm - 7:00am shift. Recently, Pat Magrath of DiversityNursing.com had a conversation with these experienced and dedicated Nurses to find out what they had to say about their nursing experiences.

Both men agree that what they love about CentraState is the opportunity for growth in their careers and the support they receive from hospital leadership. They stated that the leadership at the hospital provides excellent strategic planning, is very knowledgeable, and they consistently do the right thing for the employees and the patients. It is because of the leadership, many nurses are loyal to CentraState and have worked there for years. Jeffrey and Hazen are good examples of career growth within the hospital as Jeffrey has 9 years and Hazen has almost 14 years of tenure.

In preparation for our chat, both men did not consider gender as a focus of diversity.  They were aware women dominated the field, however they did not look at gender as an area of diversity. When they think of diversity, it is "cultural" diversity that comes to mind. Jeff and Hazen were able to come up with 20 different countries that are represented in CentraState's employee population.

They describe the community they serve as quite diverse. The community includes all the cultures employed by CentraState as well as many others. As a result of the cultural diversity, both Hazen and Jeff have learned about several different cultures and experienced several different languages.  Jeff and Hazen agree that diversity is a welcome challenge as it is an opportunity to learn and be a better leader. As Supervisors, they are keenly aware of the importance of understanding a patient's culture. Because their own nurses are so diverse, they often take time with their staff to get a better handle on a particular patient's culture and customs.

To meet the needs of the patient speaking a different language, several resources are available to the staff. One of the resources is the Language Line. This is a service that is used to translate any language via a certified interpreter. CentraState has been proactive and paid for staff members to be certified as language interpreters so they will be on hand to interpret a patient's symptoms and offer medical instructions. While Hazen and Jeff confirm the importance of communicating with a patient in the patient's language, they stress the delivery is just as important. They point out how you handle yourself - your tone of voice, posture, whether there should be eye contact or if it's acceptable to touch a patient -- is just as relevant in the communication process.  

When they visited www.DiversityNursing.com, they noticed an article about mentoring. They realized how each of them had been a mentor to the other. When Hazen was in the float pool, Jeff was in the ER. Jeff got to know Hazen and mentored him in the ER. When Hazen became Administrative Coordinator a year or 2 before Jeff, Hazen mentored Jeff in the Administrative Coordinator position. Mentoring for them has been a 360 degree cycle.

Both men also value CentraState's commitment to education. They have attended numerous seminars including a seminar on Leadership. Because Hazen and Jeff love what they do at CentraState, they encourage other men to consider Nursing as a career.

When asked if they felt they were treated differently because they're men, both responded they do the same work as their female colleagues and there is no difference in how they are treated.  Both noted that communication with women is different than it is with men and this difference has actually helped them in their personal lives. Jeff and Hazen are confident they got where they are in their careers because of their skills, education and hard work, not because of their gender. They have gained the trust and respect of their colleagues.  

Diversity is alive and well at CentraState.  Every year nursing staff receive a mandatory diversity packet that covers many areas including cultural competence and communication. They are tested on this information and encouraged to use it in their daily work.

Pat Magrath of DiversityNursing.com had a recent phone meeting with him for this eNewsletter. It turns out he is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) NYC Chapter, and they met 2 years ago when he visited the DiversityNursing.com booth at the NAHN Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas.  He stopped by our booth last year as well at the NAHN Conference in Washington, DC.

After visiting the DiversityNursing.com booth, he thought about registering for the Award, but was discouraged because "he never wins anything". When he saw how easy it was to register, he decided to do it. He's glad he did and encourages everyone to register "because you never know what will happen"! He said "This came at the right moment".

To find out the identity of our 2011 Award Winner and to learn more about his experiences as a nurse, please CLICK HERE.