Wednesday, July 13, 2005: 1:00 PM-2:30 PM
Cultural Competence: An Indispensable Skill for Clinicians
Learning Objective #1: Describe the challenges in providing culturally competent health care services to the diverse consumers of health care services
Learning Objective #2: Discuss the best practice models for providing culturally competent health care services to diverse consumers
Demographic trends are changing the profile of the America populace to a more culturally diverse society of multiethnic racial groups. This reality presents a daunting challenge for providers throughout the spectrum of health care delivery. In order to play a meaningful role in health care delivery, nurses as well as other members of the health care team must see these transformations as opportunities rather than threats. Cultural competence is a continuing process and clinicians must understand that it is the desire to be culturally competent that evokes the process. Culturally competent health care services should be based on a vision shared by the patient, organization, and clinician. Cultural competence has grown from simply being part of patient satisfaction scores to a requirement of accrediting and credentialing organizations. The Joint Commission of Accreditation of Health Care Organization (JCAHO) necessitates health care organizations to demonstrate practices that incorporate the patients’ culture to their plan of care. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for magnet status requires that health care organizations recognize and respect the cultural values of their patients and workforce. The Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards require health care organizations to deliver culturally competent health care services. Standardized and required educational mandates are one of the vehicles for insuring that health care professionals increase awareness of their own cultural values, learn the values and beliefs of others, and gain necessary skills in dealing with such differences in every clinical encounter.
Organizer:	Rita K. Adeniran, RN, MSN, CMAC
Author:	Rita K. Adeniran, RN, MSN, CMAC

Third International Evidence-Based Nursing Preconference
Promoting Evidence-Based Nursing: Innovation for Nursing Practice
Sigma Theta Tau International
13 July 2005
Hawaii’s Big Island