Focus on Culturally Competent Health Care

Working for a learning organization that also happens to be the only academic health center in the state of Oregon, I am fortunate to have access to myriad learning opportunities.

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion hosts regular cultural competency lectures that focus on providing patient-centered care. I'm proud to be part of the team that organizes these lectures alongside diverse employee resource groups and other entities at OHSU.

Over the last year, we hosted a number of engaging scholars who addressed issues related to culture, health attitudes, microaggressions (special presentation by Dr. Derald Wing Sue, pictured above), strategic diversity leadership, among other important topics.

Below is a snapshot of speakers and lectures. Click here to access links to video archives and other presentation materials.

"I Have a Reservation"
Capt. Stephen "Miles" Rudd, M.D., Portland Area Indian Health Service

"Policy, Ethics & Communications in Tribal and Rural Communities"
Sarah Kastelic, Ph.D., Deputy Director, National Indian Child Welfare Association

"Disability Inequity in the Workplace"
Dan Friess, Executive Director, Incight

"Depression in African-Americans"
Elisa Torres, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Tribes, Treaties and Natural Resource Management"
Hon. Elizabeth Furse

"Learn About Disability Etiquette"
Workshop led by Employee Resource Group members

"LGBT Patient-Centered Care"
Webinars offered by the Human Rights Campaign

"Microaggressions in Everyday Life"
Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia University

"Patient Care in the Context of Culture"
Panel discussion among OHSU faculty and physicians in the schools of Medicine and Nursing (pictured below)

Medicine Wheel for the Planet

Jennifer Grenz, PhD Working toward ecological healing requires awareness of how Indigenous ancestral knowledge and living ways can complement Western scientific approaches to environmental restoration and protection practices. Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaxa’pamux mixed ancestry) worked for more than two decades as a field researcher and practitioner for environmental nonprofit organizations, where she worked with different levels of government, including First Nations in Canada. "Medicine Wheel for the Planet" compiles Grenz’s most potent realizations about the lack of forward movement in addressing an impending ecological catastrophe. A warming climate impacts not only human lives but also the natural balance that relies on reciprocal relationships rooted in deep connections to the land. She uses the metaphor of the four directions of the Indigenous “medicine wheel” to invite openness to Indigenous teachings, letting go of colonial narratives, merging lessons f...

Memento - Embracing the Darkness

Dennis "Dizzy" Doan Stories about overcoming and persevering through family dysfunction, poverty, and mental health challenges offer hope and the promise of better days. Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s memoir Memento: Embracing the Darkness is one such story, with the added complexity of being raised in an immigrant Vietnamese family. Doan’s parents dealt with the mental and emotional aftermath of war, which forcibly uprooted them from their homeland. In the United States, they struggled to create a safe and stable life for their two sons. Doan shares his journey of finding himself, his craft, and eventually a successful tattoo business in Southern California despite personal strife and run-ins with the law. Doan is best known for developing the aesthetic language to combat anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His art series titled “Model Minority” went viral, sparking conversation about Asian American identities and harmful stereotypes. In Memento, Doan showcase...

Enlighten Me

Editor's Note: This review was originally published in Los Angeles Book Review . Author Minh Lê Standing up for oneself seems like doing the right thing. Binh did just that in the face of a racist school bully who was poking fun at his Asian heritage. But physically assaulting another student goes against school policy, and it was Binh who got in trouble. Binh shares a silent retreat with his family and younger siblings. Along with other children, he learns about stories from the previous lives of the Buddha. The stories are interesting, but for Binh, it is difficult to sit still and clear his mind when he misses his Gameboy. While he struggles with silence, he learns important lessons about friendship, community, and being present. In the graphic novel "Enlighten Me," award-winning author Minh Lê and bestselling illustrator Chan Chau tell the story of a boy who gains a better understanding of himself as he works on quieting the mind and reflecting on dharma. Lê and Ch...

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