Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
Nurse Practtioner's Attitudes and Ability to Work with Goth Teens
Laurel S. Garzon, PhD, PNP, Carolyn Rutledge, PhD, CFNP, Richardean Benjamin, PhD, MPH, CNS, and Micah Scott, MSN, PhD(c). School of Nursing, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Design effective counter culture teen focused clinical learning experiences for advanced practice students. |
| Learning Objective #2: Understand provider factors affecting the care of the teen members of counter cultures. |
Nurse Practitioners Attitudes and Abilities to Work with Goth Teens
The growing prevalence of adolescents involved in counter cultural practices is a concern for families and more recently health care providers. Providers who are able to work with members of subcultures increase the likelihood that these patients will seek medical care and advice at a stage when complications can be prevented. Cultural competency includes the capacity to incorporate differences into models of health professions education and treatment in a manner that is beneficial to the student, the patient, and the health professional. Methods: This Goth Standard Patient cases were used for nurse practitioner students to assess and manage adolescents that represent a counter-culture. The patients are dressed in authentic Gothic attire and respond to questions using language typical of the culture. Students were measured on their ability to gain an accurate and complete historical and physical data. Students were also asked to provide their assessment of their performance as well as their personal impressions, comfort level and responses to the Goth teens. Findings: The students demonstrated a difficulty in gaining complete data in most cases and exhibited a discomfort in working with the teens. This was consistent with their negative personal responses and assessments regarding a teen’s decision to be Goth. Students provided feedback on the learning experience indicating that the SP cases allow a student to work with a culture many find intimidating in a safe environment. The cases were determined to appropriate for students from all learning styles (visual, auditory, sensory and kinesthetic Using the standardized patient format, the student is able to respond to both verbal and nonverbal cues. By learning to manage such patients, the student will have the skills needed to assess other diverse populations.