Native American Learning: An Integrative Model

Cultural variations influence health care needs of individuals in various cultural groups. Oral tradition, dreams, and spirituality are important in the lives of many Native Americans. There are few Native American nurses, so health care is often provided to members of this group by nurses who have different cultural backgrounds and who may not understand pertinent history and cultural practices. This article describes the planning for and teaching of a class for undergraduate and graduate health care students to increase understanding of the unique health care needs of Native Americans. The structure of the class included both classroom and clinical hours. Essential components involved study and analysis of the historical events, cultural issues, and current health care needs and services of Native Americans. Approaches that can be applied to plan courses to explore health care needs of various cultures are presented.