VANCOUVER, Wash. — As more and more Russian speakers move to Clark County and the Portland area, it is increasingly important for nurses and other health professionals to understand historical and cultural contexts so they can provide culturally competent health care to the Russian-speaking population.
Marina Braun, founder of the Russian Center in Portland, will speak on “Multiculturalism Among Russian Speakers: Intersections With Cultural Competence in Health Care” at Washington State University Vancouver Wednesday, April 17, at 6 p.m. in the Student Services building, Room 129.
Braun will discuss the communication and cultural patterns of people from the former Soviet Union and how, with a better understanding of their culture, health care professionals can provide culturally competent care. After the lecture, Braun and two WSU Vancouver nursing students from the former Soviet Union will answer questions from the audience about their experiences as community residents and nursing students.
Just as health care providers are seeing more clients from the former Soviet Union, nursing educators are seeing a growing number of nursing students from these populations as well. For this reason, the WSU Vancouver nursing club proposed the lecture to help them in their future roles as nurses, nursing educators and health care professionals.
“In recent years, diversity and cultural competence have been identified as national goals for all schools and colleges of nursing. It has never made sense to exclude under-represented groups from the profession. Now, the nursing shortage has given the profession another opportunity to open and diversify its ranks,” stated club members in their successful proposal for mini-grant funding from WSU Vancouver’s Diversity Task.
The discussion is free and open to the public. Sponsored by WSU Vancouver’s nursing club, funding for the event was provided by mini-grants from the WSU Vancouver Diversity Task Force and the University’s International Programs. For more information, call 360/546-9752.
The Russian Center is a consulting firm geared toward teaching individuals how to communicate with people from the former Soviet Union.
