Nurses Association schedules cultural diversity workshop

Latham, NY, September 22, 2008 – Understanding cultural differences is a key factor in providing health care in today’s society. Differences arise from many sources – socio-economic class, ability, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age – and can lead to unexpected professional challenges.

On Monday, Oct. 20, the New York State Nurses Association is hosting a daylong workshop, “Stirring the Melting Pot: Cultural pluralism in health care,” in its conference center at 11 Cornell Rd., Latham, N.Y. The session is designed to help nurses and other healthcare providers explore their own and others’ attitudes toward and responses to diversity.

The workshop will be conducted by J.W. Wiley, director of the Center for Diversity, Pluralism and Inclusion, and a lecturer in philosophy and minority studies at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

“This experience will leave participants with a more profound knowledge of diversity, social justice, and the multiple identities we all have but don’t often consider,” says Wiley. “We will utilize film clips as snapshots of social realities, combined with research studies that address issues of social injustice.”

The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Lunch and all course materials are included in the $155 registration fee ($125 for NYSNA members; $80 for students enrolled in basic nursing education programs). Registered nurses who complete the workshop will be awarded 6.5 continuing education contact hours.

For more information and online registration, visit www.nysna.org or call 518-782-9400, ext. 277.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 36,000 members, it is the state's largest union and professional association for registered nurses. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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