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Undergraduate Students Participate in First UNMC Cultural Competency Workshop

Seventeen undergraduate students took part in the first Cultural Competency

Workshop Jan. 6-11 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Students from Nebraska Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,

the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Hastings College and Midland Lutheran

College attended the workshop, which was coordinated by the UNMC Rural

Health Education Network. During the workshop, the students learned about

cultural differences and similarities; studied factors that determine health

disparities; completed research projects; shadowed professionals in underserved

areas; conducted mock patient interviews; and worked on sensitivity training.

Some of the students from rural Nebraska arent exposed to cultures

other than their own, so their understanding and comfort-level with people

who may not look or talk like them is not at an optimal level, said Roxanna

Jokela, director of RHEN. The Cultural Competency Workshop provides an

opportunity for these students to begin to gain an understanding of Latino,

Asian, Native American, African-American and other cultures.

The workshop was funded in part through the Nebraska Health Care Cash

Fund. Those funds come through the states settlement with tobacco companies

and are awarded on a competitive basis.

Jokela said another Cultural Competency Workshop will be conducted in

May of this year, with a third scheduled for May 2003. The idea for the

workshop originated from a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student who expressed

concerns that he didnt possess enough background to adequately treat people

of differing cultures.

Jesse Hanisch, a junior University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, said

he came closest to cultural diversity in his hometown of St. Paul, Neb.,

when he dined on Mexican food. Thats why the Cultural Competency Workshop

was of interest to Hanisch, a Caucasian.

If I were to become a doctor, to better serve the needs of people from

different cultures, Im going to need to be more receptive and understanding

of their needs, said Hanisch, a junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Chelsey Hansel, a University of Nebraska at Kearney junior, said an

exercise in which the student participants, all Caucasian, were asked to

stereotype themselves was particularly eye-opening.

You could see how ridiculous the stereotypes really are, said Hansel,

a graduate of Albion High School.

Hansel said that she didnt know much about Native American or Asian-American

culture when she came to UNMC. The workshop sessions, she said, allowed

her to learn about many different cultures from several perspectives. That

will be beneficial, the pre-medicine student said, wherever she chooses

to practice.

People of different cultures are living in the same communities, she

said. Im going to use what Ive learned at this workshop, thats for

sure.

The students who attended the workshop, listed alphabetically by hometown,

included:

Adams: Nichole Ebbers, junior, Nebraska Wesleyan

Albion: Chelsey Hansel, junior, UNK

Albion: Kristin Maricle, junior, Nebraska Wesleyan

Beatrice: Holly Portwood, sophomore, Hastings College

Elkhorn: Amanda Kruse, freshman, Nebraska Wesleyan

Fort Calhoun: Michael Kelly McCarthy, junior, Midland Lutheran

Grand Island: Tiffany Peterson, junior, UNL

Hastings: Bryce Noll, sophomore, Hastings College

Humphrey: Brad Greisen, junior, UNK

Imperial: Jessica Schutte, sophomore, Midland Lutheran

Mullen: Michael Simonson, senior, UNK

ONeill: Autumn Hanson, sophomore, Midland Lutheran

St. Paul: Jesse Hanisch, junior, UNL

Seward: Dara Greene, senior, UNL

Valentine: Ryon Parker, senior, Hastings College

Wahoo: Aaron Lanik, junior, Midland Lutheran

Wymore: Krystal Behrends, senior, Nebraska Wesleyan