School of Nursing Receives Grant Awards for Nurturing Cultural Competence in Nursing (NCCN) Programs.

02/27/09  Portland, OR

The Oregon Center for Nursing, in partnership with the Oregon Community Foundation, announced that the OHSU School of Nursing received grant awards for two  Nurturing Cultural Competence in Nursing (NCCN) programs. A total of seven projects were funded through generous support from the Oregon Community Foundation, Ann and Bill Swindells Charitable Trust, Samuel S. Johnson Foundation, Legacy Health Systems, and Providence Health Systems Community Grants Council.

The first project to receive funding if focused upon designing mentoring support for nursing students in the Simulation and Clinical Learning Center who are English Language Learners.  The second project, in partnership with Asante Health Systems (Medford), is for designing and implementing an online cultural competence tutorial for nursing students, faculty, and practicing nurses.

These awards represent the culmination of efforts led by the Oregon Center for Nursing to promote cultural competence in the nursing workforce in Oregon and SW Washington.  The grant projects will address strategies for effective implementation of culturally competent practices for nursing schools (faculty and students) and practicing nurses. Each project offers an innovative approach to increase recruitment and retention of a more diverse nursing workforce, and to promote culturally competent care in all healthcare settings. The NCCN program was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in collaboration with the Northwest Health Foundation, as part of a unique national initiative, Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future, to address the shortage of nurses.  Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN) energizes local foundations to act as catalysts in their communities to develop strategies for creating and sustaining a viable nursing workforce, especially from diverse populations.