The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of South Bohemian University organized from 19th till 22nd June a large international conference of the European Transcultural Nursing Association (ETNA), which is a very prestigious event that takes place once in two years.
The European Transcultural Nursing Association incorporates health and social care professionals, students, nurses and other specialists in nursing and related fields. This conference was held for the first time in the Czech Republic, in the lecture halls of the FHSS Vltava/Uran. The conference, including a rich program with lectures by experts from nearly 20 countries, was launched on Wednesday evening in the hotel Budweis by the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch, the Rector of the University of South Bohemia Tomáš Machula, the Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of USB Ivana Chloubová and the President of Transcultural Nursing, Associate Professor Irena Papadopoulos. Organizers expected more than one hundred participants and the official language for negotiations was English.
This year´s program was devoted to the topic of building a culturally competent curriculum (i.e.teaching syllabus) and was focused on cultural competences of nurses. Its aim is to provide the care for all patients with the respect of their cultural customs, needs and expectations. „It is a very current topic because we live in a globalized world and nurses and other staff in the health service meet people from other countries and cultures more often. Every culture has its own specifics and it is important to know and respect them, when we provide care – not only e.g. by an examination but also regarding the diet,“ said the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for Science and Research Prof. Valérie Tóthová, who is the only member of ETNA Association within the Czech Republic. She also explained that this is not only related to immigrants but it involves employees of different international businesses too.
The target of the conference was to compare the teaching syllabus in different countries and how the students gain the knowledge and skills important for providing culturally competent care. This prestigious event was not only an important promotion for the South Bohemian University, but it also represented the whole Czech Republic in the field of nursing. The Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care of the FHSS of USB incorporates a group of specialists who have been dealing with this topic for a long time.
More information here.
