Blog
A new year means new opportunities for growth and learning
Getting some free CE credits doesn’t hurt, either!
Nursing In A New Era: Learning and Applying Structural Competency
How is our health affected by the society in which we live? Why are U.S. patients consistently among the sickest in the industrialized world, despite having the highest health expenditure per person? How has the investment of tens of billions of dollars in healthcare technology affected patients and the nursing profession? What happens to health outcomes when traditional jobs go by the wayside and laws to protect workers and communities are rolled back?
This class introduces nurses to a new approach to healthcare—structural competency—a cutting-edge model that addresses the interplay of biological and social factors affecting patients and communities. The course examines how new healthcare technologies accelerate the shift of care from hospitals to less costly care settings, like clinics and the home, and the effect this may have on the patient and family caregivers. It explains how the “Uberization” of nursing undermines the holistic nurse-patient relationship with deleterious effects for RNs and patients. The class concludes by discussing how nurses can apply structural competency to protect their patients, profession, and communities and heal the structural causes of poor health in the United States.
RN Values in Action: Public Health, Disaster Relief, and Humanitarian Crises
From hurricanes to wildfires, natural disasters have generated an onslaught of humanitarian crises in recent years. This course will explore what factors contribute to the increasing prevalence of such crises, and how science-based RN practice and advocacy can mitigate the suffering caused by this disturbing trend. We will address such questions as: Why is pollution becoming a major global public health hazard? What economic processes render certain communities more vulnerable to crisis? How are existing forms of social inequity exacerbated by natural disasters? How do changing climate conditions affect communities’ access to clean air, water, and basic nutrition?
During the class, we will hear firsthand accounts from RNs who have deployed to disaster-stricken areas. These experiences will help us understand how the core nurse values of caring, compassion, and community provide a model for addressing humanitarian crisis, and for rebuilding communities in the aftermath of natural disaster.