Bowie21

People of color cannot be racist. Race is a construct created by white people. There's a difference between racism and prejudice. There are some great resources to learn more about how race and racism impact all of us, including white people, such as The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. It is has offices throughout the US and offers courses on race and racism. Also, you may consider learning more about the Civil Rights Movement and Jim Crow through visiting The Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS; the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC; the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN; or the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Most cities--from Portsmouth, NH to San Augustine, FL to New Orleans, LA--have museums, sites, or plagues that detail some bit of our history of slavery as well as the Civil Rights Movement. Books like, the Warmth of Other Suns or the New Jim Crow, or movies, such as Ghosts of Mississippi or Selma, are great places to start to learn more. We all are hurt by systems of oppression and white supremacy. I am always learning and always thinking of how as a nurse I can work towards upholding the social justice portion of our code of ethics. For me this means learning about civil rights and working towards educating my family and friends and colleagues about our history. The Civil Rights Movement was amazing and there's so much we can learn from the organizing that was done, the courage, and the sacrifices. But, as a white person, which I am, it requires getting comfortable with getting uncomfortable and being willing to listen more than talk. I am always trying to do this, and sometimes I fail, but I think it makes me a better nurse and a better person.

Hi there! I just was accepted into the March 2018 cohort. Does Simmons have a good reputation for online education from what you've seen? I'm trying to talk to some current students about their perspective on the program before I make the decision to enroll.

I am a needle exchange nurse, HIV/AIDs certified RN and am a strong supporter of harm reduction for injection drug users. There are nursing organizations in Canada and Europe who have been running needle exchanges and injection sites for many years. Check out Insite in Canada and the documentary Street Nurses about Canadian nurses working with injection drug users. I look forward to seeing more of these sites around the country run by nurses who support harm reduction and understand the utility of needle exchange.

Thanks folks. I volunteer at a needle exchange where I live now. My partner's job is relocating us to the DC/ Baltimore area so no Colorado for us. Thanks for the NASEN listing. I'll start there. Do either of you follow any of the Canadian nurse-lead needle exchanges/ shooting galleries? I have heard that there may be a pilot project in DC that is similar. That would be a dream job for me.

Hi there! I'm relocating to the DC/Baltimore area and looking for any suggestions on public health nursing/ community health nursing programs that utilize needle exchange programs. Does anyone have any suggestions/ links? Please let me know if you know of anything:) Looking for my public health dream job.

This is my dream job! SiwanRN, I've been volunteering at a needle exchange in the south for a few years. I'm about ready to finish my accelerated BSN and am finding it really difficult to find public health jobs down here. Am probably relocating up to the DC area to find a public health job. It's so tough to be in an area where public health nursing would make such a positive difference, but it is not invested in or supported.

Hi Rose_Queen. Thanks for your response. I think Fenway Health is great. Their publications are very useful for national stats on LGBT health outcomes. I'll check out the Mazzoni Center in Philly. San Fransisco has some great options associated with UCSF. One in particular is the Center for Transgender Excellence. I did a health care professionals training with them and it changed the way I do my HIV, STD, and HepC counseling and testing. There's also the Howard Brown Health Center and the Center on Halsted in Chicago as possibilities. I think they are both now FQHCs. There's not a lot in the South, which makes me think that it might make sense to gain some experience in a city in the West or East coasts and then come back down South. I thought a community health or public health fellowship might be the best way to do that, although it might make more sense to focus on getting into an NP program that has a focus LGBT health sooner rather than later. Thanks again!

Hi there HouTx! Thanks so much for your response. I recognize it is sort of a niche question, and didn't have any expectations about replies. So, LGBT health is an exciting and expanding area of research interest at a number of universities (Duke, UCSF, Penn, Columbia, and others) due to poor health outcomes among the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. There are a myriad of reasons for this, but a big one is stigma, including from medical professionals. While, as you note, LGBT health doesn't fit into the hospital care or technology categories mentioned, knowledge about sexual and gender identity can be helpful when doing STD screenings, or asking questions about sexual history, and providing education about sexual health. Due to this, I am trying to figure out if there might be public health or community health fellowships working with the LGBT population specifically. There are a few such organizations around the country, some associated with universities. I appreciate the idea of focusing on transgender pre and post-op care. I didn't think about that as an option. While you suggested behavioral health, I can't think of how that might work as homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973. Gender dysphoria diagnosis was substantially changed in the 2013 DSM to reflect that only individuals with distress about their gender identity would be classified as such. In other words, being transgender in itself is no longer considered a mental illness. Thanks so much for your response. I'm thinking that, once I practice for a few years, pursuing my NP at one of the universities mentioned above might be the best way forward.

I am currently in an accelerated BSN program and hope to pursue community or public health nursing after graduation. I previously worked in public health as an educator (primarily with injection drug users, the HIV+ population, and the LGBT community in the deep South). I'd ultimately like to pursue a a Nurse Practitioner degree, but want to gain experience first. I have a Master's degree, and published research in my previous career, and would love to find a position where I could assist with community health research and publications. I currently work part-time conducting interviews with injection drug users for a CDC project called the National HIV/AIDs Behavioral Surveillance Program. I'm willing to relocate anywhere in the US. Where would be a good place to start in terms of pursuing this path? Do community health or public health nursing fellowships exist? Is specializing in LGBT community health a possibility for a new graduate? Thank you so much for your time and thoughts!

I had my interview this week. Everyone is super friendly. I felt totally comfortable. I wonder when we will hear back. Anyone know when letters might go out?

Just got an email this morning asking for an interview. Whew. Hang in there. I think they are sending out the interview invites one by one.