Native American
Health Sciences at
WSU Spokane
Robbie Paul, PhD
Nez Perce
Director
Purpose
• Increase the number of Native Americans
entering into the health professions at
WSU
• Coordinate the WSU health science
programs for recruiting and retention of
Native Americans
Health Sciences at WSU Spokane
• College of Pharmacy
• College of Nursing
• WWAMI(UW Medical Program with the states
of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana,
& Idaho)
• Speech and Hearing Sciences
• Nutrition, Exercise & Physiology
• Health Administration & Policy
Native American Health Science
Advisory Board
• Formed a board that meets twice a year and
advise the WSU Spokane Health Science
team:
 Native American Tribal Health Leaders
 Provost of Health Science
 College of Pharmacy Dean
 College of Nursing Dean
 WWAMI Spokane Director
Native American Health Science
Advisory Board
• Purpose: Preparing Culturally Competent
Health Care Providers for Native American
communities
• Preparing and creating culturally competent
curriculum
• Help guide research to address the Health
disparities among the Native American
populations
Native American Recruitment and
Retention Program
• Began in 1995
• Program success:
• 54 Native American BSN
• 8 Master’s of Nursing
WSU Health Science Current Students
Pharmacy:
One Native American students
WWAMI:
One Native student
Nursing:
three undergraduate, two DNP, 3 PhD
RN-BSN:
one
Exercise Physiology
One
Nursing
shortage
Fact: by 2025 the
nursing profession will
be facing a shortage of
260,000 trained
professional nurses.
Fact: Will have to train
an additional 30,000
nurses annually above
the current rate of
graduation to meet the
nation’s health care
needs.
Fact: The nursing
shortage will be just as
severe in Indian Country
as the national level
• The critical need to help educate
and prepare our Native American
youth to enter into a health
career will require collaboration
at all levels of education to
encourage and help instill in our
youth the desire and passion to
pursue a health career.
Health Professions Health Care
Shortage
• The U.S. is facing a critical Health-care shortage.
By 2015, America will be more diverse, populated
and older, and will need approximately 260,000
more nurses than we have now. But the nursing
shortage is only part of the story. Hospitals
nationwide report not having enough
pharmacists, physicians, and other health-care
professionals on staff.
Critical need in Indian Country
• The shortage of Health-care providers is even greater in
•
Native populations. Currently, only
.5 percent of the nursing population is American Indian or
Alaska Native; and, only six percent of minorities
practicing medicine are of African American, Latino or
Native American.
There is strong evidence that a health-care workforce
reflects the diversity of its people is able to provide better
quality health care than one that does not (Institute of
Medicine, 2003). This is why more Native American
students are needed in health-care professions.
17th Annual Na-ha-shnee Health Science
Institute
OUR FUTURE HEALTH CARE STUDENTS
Pipeline Program for Health Sciences
• Na-ha-shnee
 Began in 1996
* 1996-2005: emphasis on nursing
* 2005: expanded to include all the
health care professions
 To date have served over 370
Native youth
 Unofficial statistics: 70% of these
students have gone on to college;
not all have entered a health
profession degree program.
Na-ha-shnee Health Science Institute
• Purpose: To encourage our Native Youth to
explore the health science careers through
hands-on learning experiences at a 12 day camp
experience.
• Participation: Native American male & female
students who will be entering 10th, 11th and 12th
grades in the fall of 2013
• Requirements: GPA 2.5
WSU City Lab
Learning how to measure liquid
Return to using traditional foods
Provide other opportunities for students to
connect with their Native American culture.
Exercise
Tipi Sweeping Game
Sterilization
Student checking for missed spots after
hand washing
CPR and First Aid Training
Health Career workshops
Exercise & Physiology workshop
Pharmacy
Workshop on what a Pharmacy Professional does, here
learning about pill distribution.
Sterile gowning
Learning about the importance of sterile gowning and gloving.
High Ropes Challenge Course: Teaches YES THEY CAN, and
leadership skills are introduced for team work, and
overcoming fears.
Future Pharmacy students
Learning to measure ingredients
Added a math curriculum to camp
Learning how to graph and understand
formulas
Learning to suture pigs feet
Research Project: PhotoVoice
Students learn how to conduct a research project, they were
directly involved with the process, the title of the Poster
“Discovering student’s perceptions of college and health
careers using PhotoVoice”
Closing Dinner
Invited parents, friends, grandparents, & WSU Administration
Elder teachings
Importance of keeping traditional ways
Native American
Health Sciences at
WSU Spokane
Robbie Paul, PhD
WSU Spokane
PO Box1495
Spokane, WA 99210-1495
509-324-7440
paul@wsu.edu