Nurse Taylor Wilson, a labor and delivery/postpartum/OR nurse from Hobbs, New Mexico, wants everyone to realize how understanding different aspects of culture can improve experiences and outcomes for both nurses and patients.

Q: TRUE or FALSE: “Nurses eat their young.” 

A:I personally have experienced this in several positions I’ve held since earning my license. However my current position is quite the opposite. The nurses on my unit are quick to help and teach. The new graduates and inexperienced nurses are taken under their wing and given the knowledge they need to succeed in their endeavors.

Taylor Wilson, RN

Q: What is your specialty and where are you based?

A: I’m a labor and delivery/postpartum/OR nurse from Hobbs NM

Q: What does cultural competence mean for healthcare providers?

A: Cultural competence is a fancy way of saying adapt to your audience. Understanding various aspects of culture and how they relate to health care and medicine improve the experience and outcomes for both patient and provider alike.

Q: What is your experience with nurse unions?

A: Have none.

Q: How did you choose your specialty? What drew you to it?

A: I bounced around for a while, shamefully taking the highest paying offers (had to recover from school costs somehow) until I was the nurse caring for my great grandmother in the nursing home during her decline. 

After hearing her heart stop when the weight of all the people I watched take their last breath it became apparent that life is what I wanted to be a part of. I’d like to think it was my nanny who facilitated this realization and as an L&D nurse I’ve never been happier or more satisfied with my practice.