Biggest Challenges and Rewards

Published

What do you anticipate to be the biggest challenges and rewards of nursing a diverse population in an inner city hospital?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

yikes this sounds like a homework question! If not what is the background to your question?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
What do you anticipate to be the biggest challenges and rewards of nursing a diverse population in an inner city hospital?

Keyword here being "diverse." There are many challenges and rewards of nursing working with a diverse population.

Think on that and maybe you can come up with some ideas.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi everyone! First, I'd like to say this is a repeat of the previous post, I was working on it still but it seemed to have submitted and can't delete. :( I have an interview coming up and have been asked to give a 5 minute oral presentation on the following:

"What do you anticipate to be the biggest challenges and rewards of nursing a diverse population in an inner city hospital?"

Growing up where I did I have never been around anything BUT a diverse community. The greatest challenges that I can think of socioeconomic status, language barriers, cultural sensitivity, cultural shock and good ol' ignorance of other peoples' cultures.

As for rewards, obviously we become more exposed to different cultures and influenced not only by their traditions but by their methods/techniques/ ways of doing things differently. More medically specific, we have adapted many practices from other cultures in the States and have had very successful results.

So ^ is the process i'm using to break down disadvantages and rewards but I'd like to hone in on the "inner-city hospital" part. Being in CA we see a wide ethnic variety of patients on any given day and I'd really like to ask for some thoughts and suggestions for this topic that could maybe also help me think of others that have not yet come to mind.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE EVERYONE! :shy:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
yikes this sounds like a homework question! If not what is the background to your question?

Hi, thank you for replying to this post. It kind of jumped the gun on me and submitted before I was done though. Please check out my new post with background information, I'd greatly appreciate any input you may have.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Keyword here being "diverse." There are many challenges and rewards of nursing working with a diverse population.

Think on that and maybe you can come up with some ideas.

Hi, thank you for replying to this post. It kind of jumped the gun on me and submitted before I was done though. Please check out my new post with background information, I'd greatly appreciate any input you may have.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think what you have so far is nicely thought out. Expand on that and give examples.

Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for elaborating! I thinking you make some great points already. Part of the inner city hosp part will also include issues of equal access to healthcare for both urgent and preventive care , availability of resources to the hosp itself as many inner city hosp have many pts on indigent care so struggle to pay staff as well as have enough supplies available. That can lead to a lot of the awesome things that a lower socioeconomic pt may need and not have available to them at the hosp system such as Care coordination , social work , education for chronic diseases , etc. I think those are some things to investigate that might be applicable to inner city hosp in particular.

Good luck

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Tele Step Down, Oncology, ICU, Med/Surg.

That I know how to say "Nurse" and "Pain" in 18 different languages. That I really need to get better at my Spanish and at least learn a few more Cantonese phrases than the two or three I have under my belt. That the staff and I have been gifted some very interesting foods that have a history all their own. That I am often forced to check my assumptions and stereotypes at the door. That I am exposed to cultures and rites that I didn't even know existed and have discovered in the process how we are more alike than different...although I should have warned the other nurses on the floor the rabbi was going to be blowing that horn.

That poverty and ignorance are not the fault of the person, and that in most cases these are conditions that can be treated and improved upon. That some people chose to remain poor, ignorant, ETOH/polysubstance abusers and homeless and that they have a right to that choice and to be frequent fliers and to leave AMA again and again untill you find them dead on the street corner on your way home. That I would be OK with this because I gave them the best I could give them when they needed me the most.

That I would learn not the resent the Sickle Cell pts who follow me around until I get their Dilauded/Benedryl because they had to learn how to work the system since they were little kids and they were often being under-treated. That if I create trust and behave in a trust worthy fashion and keep my commitments from the get go my day will go a lot easier.

To check and recheck and check again because where I work there are some common Asian and African American last names and often tiny Little Old Ladies all buy their wigs at the same wig shop and you can have three Chen's and two Perkin's all with the same wig on and all five of them look alike (true story with names changed for HIPPA!)

That even though you do not speak the same language sometimes you can speak volumes with your eyes and by reaching out to hold my hand. That American Medicine is not a miracle cure. That we as nurses have so much teaching to do about death and dying and palliative care and that the ignorance on this topic disheartening.

That people are lovely and difficult in equal measure no matter the background yet each human is so unique--a world unto their own. When working with such a diverse inner city population I learn something everyday and I am so much richer for it

Up Vote Up Vote ×
That I know how to say "Nurse" and "Pain" in 18 different languages. That I really need to get better at my Spanish and at least learn a few more Cantonese phrases than the two or three I have under my belt. That the staff and I have been gifted some very interesting foods that have a history all their own. That I am often forced to check my assumptions and stereotypes at the door.....

THANK YOU SO MUCH, this is just what I was looking for! Your examples really touched me and really pointed out some things I want to focus on. Kudos to you for all your efforts, compassion, constant reinvention and outlook on nursing. It is very refreshing. I appreciate you taking the time to reply this post. :rolleyes:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Which hospitals have this question for interview?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello everyone I wanted to come by and thank you all again for your amazing input/suggestions/encouragement. I interviewed on Tuesday and got the offer on Wednesday (they were really impressed by the points I brought up and talked about in my presentation). I'm so excited to start!! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion