Indiana based cardiovascular ICU nurse Jordan Adams, chats with us about nurse unions and cultural competency in healthcare.

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

A:  If you are in the right unit and environment .. they don’t… it depends on the unit and what kind of environment the leadership has created.

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

A:  Cardiovascular intensive care unit . Open heart patients .. based in Indianapolis Indiana.

Q: What does cultural competence mean for healthcare providers? 

A:  Being able to individualize care for each patient based on their culture and beliefs. This is the art of nursing. When we can take care of someone and mold it into specific care for each person.

Q: What is your experience with nurse unions? 

A:  I have no experience with nurse unions. One RN I knew tried to start one at a different hospital and got fired from that network. 

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

A:  I wanted to start in a specialized unit. During nursing school the chapters that I performed the best on my tests were the cardiac tests. I found a unit that dealt with open heart patients and fell in love. I have been working there going on 10 years now.