| Learning Objective #1: Describe the nurse's role as caregiver for a newly-arrived refugee population | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Describe leadership guidelines to be followed when integrating community resources for refugee support |
This presentation describes a case of nursing leadership among a population of African refugees known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. It also examines appropriate roles for nurses during their transition to American life. Refugees bring with them a host of challenges and opportunities for nurses and nurse leaders.
Before their arrival in America, the lives of the Lost Boys had been a tale of war and suffering that had destroyed their homes and killed their parents. Rebel soldiers kidnapped the girls, while boys fled into the wild finally settling in Kenyan refugee camps. Groups of Sudanese were finally resettled in communities like ours throughout the United States.
Control of the refugee transformation in our city was loose but the local Refugee Resettlement agency was a point of contact. The director was delighted to have nurses assist refugees in the arduous process of mastering basic Western lifestyle skills. Resettlement staff assessed the Lost Boys to be worse off than any other group. They had never been in a car, subsisted on one daily meal of maize, lived in mud huts, and had received only rudimentary health care in the camps. However, their spoken English was good, along with their positive attitudes and high value on education.
What is the role of the nurse leader in such situations? Mary Pipher makes the point that these refugees do not need therapists as much as they need "cultural brokers." The presentation outlines how nurses transcended normal roles to establish a focused network of volunteer healthcare, employment and education providers.
Guided by the presenter, session participants will explore community organizing issues to find common ground for those who study, teach, or practice nursing leadership.
Pipher, Mary (2002). The Middle of Everywhere: The World's Refugees Come to Our Town. Harcourt, Inc.
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