Events to Highlight Diversity at the UVa School of Nursing
Minority Leader Lecture Series
The Minority Guest Lecture Series is one means by which the School of Nursing Diversity Committee promotes education and communication about diversity. Inviting a Minority Guest Lecturer serves two purposes. First, he/she is a role model to faculty and students from groups that are similarly under represented in nursing education. This role modeling is also valuable for attendees from the community who may not be aware of the contributions to nursing scholarship and practice made by minority members of the profession. Second, the Minority Guest Lecturer advances the understanding of lecture attendees on a topic that reflects the intersection of health care with diversity. For example, the first Minority Guest Lecturer was Dr. Mary Starke Harper whose presentation, entitled: Human Experimentation: From Tuskegee 1932 to Rural Virginia 2005, was held in April of 2005. Dr. Harper discussed her work since the Tuskegee project demonstrating her leadership in nursing and her presentation also encouraged participants to reflect on the impact of racial bias on the ethics of clinical research.
The Diversity Committee has received funding from the School of Nursing Alumni Association to fund the Minority Guest Lecture Series. Additional funding may be obtained through the Office of Diversity and Equality. The Diversity Committee hopes this will be an annual event bringing together members of the School of Nursing, the community and the Health System and celebrating the achievements of nursing leaders.
Next Minority Leader Lecture:
Diversity Day
The School of Nursing sponsors an annual event called Diversity Day. This half-day workshop includes panel discussions and/or presentations by guest speakers on topics related to diversity and cultural competency that students have previously identified as areas of interest on workshop evaluations. Fourth years students receive course credit for attendance and third year and graduate students are invited to participate. Annual Diversity Day events are sponsored with funding from the School of Nursing Alumni Association.
Next Diversity Day:
- March 28, 2007 - guest speaker Nancy Glass, RN, PhD, Co-Director of the Center for Health Disparities Research at Johns Hopkins University
Past Diversity Day Events:
- March 22, 2006 - When Words Fail Us: Nursing in the Presence of Language Barriers
- 2005 - Global Health
Diversity Brown Bag Luncheons
These "brown bag luncheons" provide an opportunity for students and faculty to dialogue with guest speakers on topics related to diversity and cultural competency in a casual atmosphere over lunch. Our goal is to organize one each semester.
Next Brown Bag Luncheon:
- April 2007 - alumna Anne Gates, RN, MSN will talk about her work as a nurse practitioner with a Latino population
Previous Brown Bag Luncheons:
- April 2006 - Becky Lewis, RN, MSN, "Brokering Situations of Cultural Bias"