Celebrating Native American, American Indian, and Alaskan Native Heritage Month

I decided to become a nurse while working as a behavioral health tech at an inpatient psych hospital in my late teens.  I felt like I had an understanding of the challenges (poverty, poor access to care, etc.) that many patients were going through that came from having experienced some of those same challenges myself growing up on the reservation. I had people who were helpful to me along the way, and I wanted to demonstrate my appreciation for that help by extending it to others who needed it. 

My connection to my Lakota culture definitely served as a significant motivator to get through nursing school.  It is considered to be both a responsibility and an honor to live in a way that is aligned with traditional values such as wacantognaka (being generous with others) and waunsila (being caring/compassionate for others).  Every single thing that we do in life we are told to do intentionally and with the interest of others in mind.  The opportunity to go to nursing school and be helpful to others is not something easy to come by for people who live where I grew up.  I was the first person in my family to complete a college degree and the honor that achievement brought to my family by doing so was also something that meant a lot to me.  When we achieve things that reflect a devotion and respect to our culture and way of life, we are showing our ancestors and family that we are living in that good way that they taught us.

I was very happy working with individuals experiencing homelessness as an RN but again I saw an opportunity where I could be more helpful to the people I was already serving.  Indigenous people are drastically overrepresented among the homeless population in our community here so many of my patients were Indigenous. There exists a lack of trust between Indigenous people and those working in the healthcare field because of injustices that have occurred in the past and discrimination that is still experienced when trying to access care.  Frankly, there is also a detrimental lack of cultural competency/awareness of historical trauma among many healthcare providers working with Indigenous people and I think the statistics reflect that.  I had elders from my community encouraging me to continue my education and I decided that it must be the path that I was meant to take.  I feel honored to be trusted with the care of so many people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.  I believe it is living true to who I am as a Lakota woman that has helped me establish myself as a provider who is worthy of that honor. 

To me, being #ANCCCertified means having a dedication to providing the highest quality of care possible to our patients.  That is something I take very seriously and feel proud to be able to offer my patients. 

Advancing Your APRN Practice with Purpose:
2024 Webinar Abstract Submission

Please submit your abstract for the Advancing Your APRN Practice with Purpose Webinar Series. There is currently a professional practice gap for educational content that is applicable to all four roles of Advanced Practice (CNS, CNM, NP, CRNA). The goal of this webinar series is to offer a platform to display innovations and challenges in practice that affect APRNs. We are specifically seeking presenters to describe clinical issues and solutions. CNE and pharmacology credit are offered when applicable. Webinars are held monthly.

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